Father of four in dialysis battle

Dominic Barter with wife Kate and children (clockwise from left) Cooper, Harley, Jordan and Lucia.

WHEN Silkstone father-of-four Dominic Barter was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, he and his young family were shocked.

At just 36 years of age, Mr Barter and his wife Kate, 33, were in the prime of their lives, busy raising four children under 10.

But the discovery shattered the idyllic existence, and saw the family go from an outgoing team of six to being totally dependent on a dialysis machine.

For the past eight weeks Mr Barter has had to hook up to a home kidney dialysis unit for up to eight hours a day, three times a week.

However Mrs Barter is optimistic.

“It is what it is – you have no control over it,” she said.

“We don't like it but it's our new normal. At first we went through grieving process but shook it off and got on with it.”

As the former state manager for a successful company, Mr Barter had to come to terms with the fact he couldn't work anymore.

He went from being the breadwinner who played soccer with the kids, to being confined to bed for hours on end.

“It was life-changing and very difficult, but we can see the dialysis is helping,” he said.

A new report has identified a scoring system that uncovers depression in dialysis patients.

Kidney Health Australia's Dr Tim Mathew said the presence of “loss” and depression often went unrecognised by health professionals involved in the care of dialysis patients.

“Hopefully the scoring system will lead to earlier recognition of significant depression and ultimately to an improved survival on dialysis programs,” he said.