Holy Name Press Releases

Holy Name Patient marks 35 Years on Dialysis

May 1, 2007

Believed to be Among the Longest Continuously-Dialyzed Individuals Anywhere

No one expects to be hit with a life-threatening chronic disorder in his prime. But when Ed Strudwick found out he'd need kidney dialysis for the rest of his life, he was only 31. He'd been married for nine years and had two young daughters. What, one wonders, were Mr. Strudwick's thoughts at that time? As he succinctly puts it, "It was either go on dialysis or be dead."

Thirty-five years later, Mr. Strudwick, who drives about 25 minutes to Holy Name Hospital's Regional Dialysis Center three mornings a week from his home in Haskell, N.J., is possibly the longest continuously dialyzed person anywhere. Once called "the dialysis marathon man" by The Record, Mr. Strudwick, 66, underwent a kidney transplant in 1977, but his body rejected the organ before he was discharged from the hospital.  After that, he opted out of the transplant program and decided he would, instead, adapt to a lifestyle that accommodated dialysis.

Kidney (or renal) dialysis refers to the process by which wastes and extra fluid are removed from the blood of an individual whose kidneys have failed. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 340,000 Americans are currently receiving dialysis. It can be performed on an outpatient basis at a hemodialysis center like Holy Name's, or at home, via hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. The latter uses the patient's own peritoneum (the membrane surrounding the abdominal organs) as a filter to do the work of a dialysis machine.

Mr. Strudwick and his wife, Gloria, performed home hemodialysis for 25 years after she received training at Holy Name's dialysis center. For the last 10 years, he has come to the hospital for hemodialysis "to give her a break."

Heeding doctor's orders, staying active and positive outlook are keys to success

Being on dialysis for as long as Mr. Strudwick is an amazing accomplishment, as dialysis patients are susceptible to complications not only from kidney failure, but from the treatment itself. And maintaining a can-do attitude over so long a period of time is a challenge for most people, particularly those who are not anticipating a transplant.

"The biggest obstacle," according to Robert Rigolosi, M.D., medical director of Holy Name Hospital's Regional Dialysis Center, "is maintaining the diet and fluid restrictions." Dialysis patients are allowed a limited amount of fluid, as compared to what a healthy person is able to drink, and must adhere to a sodium- and potassium-restricted diet. They must also avoid many over-the-counter drugs, be sure to take their prescribed medications, and keep their blood pressure under control. In this regard, Dr. Rigolosi calls Mr. Strudwick "the role model for other patients."

"He's very compliant," explains the doctor. "He does exactly what he's advised and follows instructions perfectly." Another factor contributing to his success, maintains Dr. Rigolosi, is that Mr. Strudwick has "tremendous family support, and a loyal and dedicated wife who helps us to help him."

As for Mr. Strudwick, he needs no further incentive than his love of life. "I was always an easy-going person," he says. "I don't let things bother me too much. This is what I have to do to stay alive. I want to live. That's the way I look at it. I take it in stride."

According to Joyce Jarvis, LCSW, Dialysis Social Worker at Holy Name for 27 years, Mr. Strudwick's positive outlook has definitely impacted his prognosis. "Ed never stopped working," she points out. "He saw the need for dialysis as just another piece in the whole puzzle, just a part of his life; it didn't take over his life."

Mr. Strudwick agrees, noting, "It really hasn't kept me at home all these years. You can do what you'd normally do, you just have to plan ahead." He continued his full-time job at a steel plant, was socially active, enjoyed his woodworking hobby, did yard work, and traveled periodically. When he would stay in Florida for two weeks at a time, the staff at Holy Name would help him make arrangements at a dialysis center there. They did the same when he visited family members in Phoenix. Most recently, he and his wife stayed overnight in Pittsburgh for his nephew's wedding.

These days, Mr. Strudwick is still out and about, scootering around his community, talking with neighbors and shopping with his wife. Now that he has four grandchildren, he is motivated by the desire to witness each upcoming milestone in their lives.

A lifetime of progress in a few decades
Back in 1969the year Dr. Rigolosi opened the dialysis unit at Holy Nameif you would have told him a patient could thrive on dialysis for more than three decades, "I wouldn't have believed it." After all, there was a high mortality rate for renal patients, who had to tolerate eight-hour treatment sessions (as opposed to three to four hours, today). Technological advances to the dialysis machines, improved chemical solutions used during dialysis and medications that stave off complications, have changed the landscape for these patients and enhanced quality of life beyond what was ever imagined.

"Nausea, vomiting and cramping were common occurrences and occasionally patients would pass out," recalls Dr. Rigolosi of early dialysis. "Today, that's very rare. They come in, get their treatment, and go back out to work, school, shopping or home."

Some patients study or work on their laptops while they're being treated. Others watch television.

"Patients have graduated from high school, college, medical school and law school while being kept alive with hemodialysis treatments," he says.

Having kidney failure and being on dialysis "is not like having a terminal illness," emphasizes Dr. Rigolosi. "There's hope. It's an adjustment to your lifestyle."  

Helping patients assimilate dialysis into their lives is what Ms. Jarvis is all about. She encourages them in every wayto work, to stay active, to travel, to adhere to doctors' recommendations"with the goal of helping them resume as much of their pre-dialysis life as possible." She says the center's staff makes the patient's work schedule a priority "and will move mountains for people to continue their employment because it's the healthiest way to cope."

They also help patients with insurance and disability payment matters, educate them on treatment choices, assist with family issues, and give emotional support. "We have a lot of time to work with our patients," observes Ms. Jarvis, "so we really get to know them."

And given his "tenure" in the dialysis unit, Ed Strudwick is surely among the most well known.

"He has become one of our dialysis staff family members," says Dr. Rigolosi. "Ed is very special and frequently helps us reassure patients who are new to the dialysis program. As one of the longest dialysis survivors in the nation, he has truly earned his reputation as the marathon man of dialysis.'"