Profiles in Courage: Home Dialysis and Circle of Support Keep Barry on the Field

As a freelance photographer and photography professor, Barry Reeger lives a busy life covering the Pittsburgh Steelers and Penn State football games for Imagn Images and the Associated Press, photographing high school and youth sports, and teaching classes at two colleges. In 2025, Barry began home peritoneal dialysis due to chronic kidney disease.

“During the day, there’s a lot of people who don’t know that I’m sick,” Barry said. “I’ve been a worker since I’ve been a young kid. Just because I’m sick doesn’t mean I can’t do it; I want to continue to live my life like I’ve been doing, not have my kidneys tell me [how to live].”

Peritoneal dialysis gives him the flexibility to work and spend time with family. “It’s changed my ability to get around. [It’s a] healthy alternative and a reminder to not let kidney disease tell you how to live your life,” Barry said.

Despite managing diabetes with diet and exercise for the past 20 years, Barry’s long-term diagnosis and an acute kidney injury led to stage 3 kidney disease in January 2024.

As his kidney function continued to decline, his nephrologist suggested he consider transplant, so Barry began the necessary steps to be added to the waitlist.

Barry delayed dialysis because he was uncertain of how he’d feel and its impact on his work. “I wish I would have started it a lot sooner,” he said. “I never realized I was going to feel as good as I do.”

Barry’s care team at DCI Hempfield in Jeannette, PA, trained him and his wife in April 2025 on how to set up and use his peritoneal dialysis machine for his 8-hour nightly treatment. The machine filters out toxins from fluids through the lining of Barry’s abdomen.

“Training was wonderful,” he said. “I felt very confident coming home after the first training session that I was going to be able to do it.”

“I don’t think I could do PD at home without the support of the clinic,” he said. “I have a whole team of people at DCI who help me.” Barry and each DCI home patient see a peritoneal dialysis nurse, social worker and dietitian, who are available to answer questions and provide support throughout each dialysis journey.

“I couldn’t be who I am without their help – I really think of them like family,” Barry said.

He is surrounded by great support at home to help him through his PD journey as well. “My wife is a wonderful person who does all the things on the side that allow me to do what I need to do,” he said, including prepping for treatments, ordering supplies and refilling prescriptions. Barry appreciates the flexibility to start treatment after late games and hopes he’ll find a kidney donor soon.

To learn more about Dialysis Clinic, Inc., visit www.dciinc.org.