Learning that you need dialysis can be emotional, stressful — and prompt many questions about your health.

Imagine navigating that when you’re not able to express your feelings and needs.

This is what happened to Justin, who relies mostly on non-verbal communication and is living with Down syndrome and autism. Justin has had diabetes since he was three years old, and as a young adult he experienced an issue with his blood that led to hospitalization, the need for higher levels of care — and dialysis.

Justin’s parents, Scott and Carmen, suddenly had to navigate a whole new type of care for their son, and they struggled to find a provider for dialysis treatments.

“Nobody would take Justin. And [DaVita] got the call, and we said, ‘Yes, we can,’” Lorna, the facility administrator at the DaVita center where Justin eventually started receiving treatment. “And we are here. And we care.”

As the DaVita care team started working with Justin and his family, they focused on building trust and creating a connection with Justin.

“It was important for me to try to get on his level and understand how scary this might be for him,” DaVita patient care technician Chris says. “And just take my time getting him accustomed to me: knowing my name — understanding, ‘Hey, I’m here for you. I’ll protect you. I’ll keep you safe.’”

As the DaVita care team took time to ensure Justin’s parents understood Justin’s care needs day-to-day, Justin also began to feel more comfortable with everyone at the center.

“He would come in. He would see Ignacio; he’d go over; he would hug him. And then he would come in and he would say, hi Chris. In the end, it was high fives and hugs,” Chris recalls of the relationships Justin and the team built.

And seeing this helped Justin’s parents feel comfortable:

“It made it a success—these relationships,” Carmen says. “[Chris] developed a really good rapport with Justin. So, they really were able to communicate with each other really well. It made the difference having somebody there that would be like a friend, a mentor and everything to [Justin] and take care of him.”

The connections Justin built with his care team also helped him maintain eligibility for kidney transplantation.

Months after starting dialysis with DaVita, Justin’s parents got a call:

“We didn’t know how long it would take,” Carmen says. “We got a phone call at 11 o’clock at night. I almost didn’t even answer the phone. And then they said they had a kidney, and it was just really a surprise.”

Justin has not needed dialysis since his transplant surgery in February 2024 – which has allowed Justin and his family to start focusing more on what’s to come: swimming, school and visiting loved ones.

Still, the family continues to feel gratitude for finding DaVita and the care Justin needed: