Why I Built KidneyKind

"There are over 800,000 Americans on dialysis right now. And most of us are managing our care with a mix of paper logs, spreadsheets, and memory. We deserve better."

The Diagnosis

Polycystic Kidney Disease isn't the kind of diagnosis you get overnight. For most people — myself included — it builds slowly. You learn it runs in the family. You get the genetic test. You watch the numbers creep in the wrong direction over years of appointments. Then one day, your nephrologist tells you it's time to start thinking about renal replacement therapy.

That conversation changes everything. Suddenly you're in a world of new vocabulary — PD vs HD, Kt/V, ultrafiltration, phosphorus binders, EPO. A world your phone's health app wasn't built for.

Starting Peritoneal Dialysis

I chose peritoneal dialysis because it fits my life — I can do it at home, on my own schedule, without sitting in a clinic chair for four hours three times a week. But home dialysis comes with its own complexity. Manual exchanges, cycler sessions, fluid tracking, watching drain appearance, recording weights before and after.

I tried to track it in Apple Health. I tried spreadsheets. I tried paper logs. None of it worked — they were either too generic, too tedious, or couldn't capture the specific fields that actually matter for dialysis patients.

"I wanted an app that understood what a 'manual exchange' was. That knew UF = drain minus fill. That let me note drain appearance and actually understood why that matters."

Building the App I Needed

So I built one. KidneyKind started as a simple session log. Then I added vitals. Then medication reminders — because dialysis patients are typically on 8–15 medications and missing a phosphorus binder matters. Then lab tracking, because watching your potassium trend between appointments gives you something real to talk about with your nephrologist.

The name KidneyKind came from a simple idea: that kidney patients deserve technology that's kind to them. Thoughtful. Built around how they actually live, not how a developer imagines they live.

The Transplant Journey

I'm currently working through the kidney transplant evaluation process — the extensive medical workup required before you can be placed on the national waitlist through UNOS. It's a long road. Cardiology clearance, surgical consultations, social work, financial review, infectious disease, and more.

That process — and the lack of a clear, plain-language guide to what's ahead — is why KidneyKind will also include a transplant resources section. Because when I started, I didn't know what I didn't know.

What's Next

KidneyKind is actively in development. The core tracking and medication features are being built first, followed by news, recipes, resources, and the transplant guide. Every feature is designed around what I — and patients like me — actually need.

If you're a dialysis patient, a caregiver, or someone navigating kidney disease and you have ideas for what KidneyKind should include, I'd genuinely love to hear from you. This app is being built by the community it serves.