When Travis experienced COVID-19 in 2021, he was admitted to hospital. While there, he learned that his kidneys were failing and he needed to start dialysis quickly.

Travis is passionate about the work he does in Christian hip-hop and apparel design; but when he started dialysis in-center, it was difficult for him to manage his kidney care and the career he loves.

“Having to go to the center three days of the week… it was very hard, not being able to do my music like I wanted to. At one point, I’m not going to lie, I gave up on it.”

During this time, Travis turned to his family, and especially his wife DiSherri, for comfort and support. His goal was to find solutions. Travis talked about working with his nephrologist to pursue peritoneal dialysis (PD), an option that would allow him to treat at home. When he made the decision to start home treatments, Travis knew the care team at his dialysis center would be happy.

“Travis really took the reins on this,” Sharon, Travis’s PD nurse, says. “He actually said, ‘Yeah, OK, I know I have chronic kidney disease, but chronic kidney disease is not gonna have me.”

The move to home dialysis has enabled Travis to re-energize his career goals, and he continues to find support from his family. Travis’s sons carry boxes of dialysis supplies from storage to the upstairs of the house, where Travis treats. And as his care partner, DiSherri continues to be right at Travis’ side.

“[Sharon] made me feel a part of the team,” DiSherri says. “It made me think, ‘you know what, I do have a part of this. My kids have a part of this.”

On PD, Travis feels able to find balance between caring for his kidney health and doing the things he loves — spending time with his loved ones and working his goals — for both his career and his kidney health. DiSherri’s close friend also has experience with kidney disease and recently underwent a successful kidney transplant. Watching her experience and understanding the process has given Travis more enthusiasm in pursuing a transplant himself.

“I’m getting back into a lot of things,” Travis says. “I just started to get excited about everything, all over again.”