I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: Traveling Tips and Stories => Topic started by: natnnnat on June 24, 2011, 03:27:17 AM
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Blog post with photos and constructions details from an enterprising Australian couple.
from
http://bigdandme.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/taking-your-dialysis-machine-with-you-on-the-road/
Taking your Dialysis (machine) with you on the road
About two months ago I saw an article in our local Dialysis and Transplant Magazine, Shoestring, about Ros and Charlie, who had installed a dialysis machine in their caravan, so they could travel the country. Wow, I thought, what a great idea! But what about all those things we take for granted in our unit or at home: support, water quality, cleaning, dealing with the consumables, etc?
Luckily, Ros dialyses now and then at our unit, so I jumped at the chance to ask her to write a guest post all about setting up and touring in her dialysis caravan. She gracefully agreed, and here it is.
I have a long history of renal disease, and after my transplant failed, I was again on dialysis. This time although on the transplant list for another kidney, I am very difficult to match up and had to accept that my life may only continue with dialysis.
Consequently over the years of dialysing I have become actively involved in the renal community, being involved with the kidney health consumer committee, several government committees and the Dialysis and Transplant Association (DATA). This is a volunteer-run organization that has two very nice, very affordable holiday homes in holiday spots, Rosebud, by the beach, and Yarrawonga, on the Murray River. Both houses are equipped with dialysis machines and both the local hospitals have a holiday chair to cater for the holiday maker.
The most frustrating aspect of holidaying is finding a dialysis unit that can fit you in for a holiday. For myself I have managed to have a number of holidays, not only in the DATA homes, but at Myrtleford, Orbost, Sale, Dubbo, Lorne and Darwin. It is a matter of ringing the dialysis units and hoping there is a dialysis spot at the time that suits. I then started hearing about people who had put dialysis machines into caravans, making it easier to holiday. So I am by far not the first to do this.
Prior to dialysing, my husband Charlie and I travelled the land, and loved to camp, mainly in the high country. With my eyesight deteriorating I was determined we would travel again. We took some time to choose our caravan (we went to a few caravan shows to work out exactly what we wanted). We decided that we really wanted to be able to visit out-of-the-way places, such as the high country again, so we chose an “off road” caravan – the Topaz made by Tracktrailer.
etc, read the whole story with pictures at
http://bigdandme.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/taking-your-dialysis-machine-with-you-on-the-road/
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:2thumbsup;
Being able to travel with fewer issues is one reason we decided to use NxStage. I love to read how folks take control of their lives!
:clap;