Off to the Bahamas this Saturday!

[GraphicBass]

Looking forward to the vacation we thought was doomed when I started dialysis last month, with the wife and  her two sisters (and husbands) to the Bahamas on the Carnival Fascination.

I've arranged dialysis at a Jacksonville, FL FMC early in the morning before we board, and then immediately (almost) after arrive home. In the middle, there's a stop at the Renal House in the Bahamas.

I've done well on dialysis, with no significant side effects, and my weight gain per day averages about a kilo, so if I don't gorge at the buffet and watch my fluid intake, the stress of traveling should not be an issue — I hope!

If it goes well, it will give me confidence to take more, and longer, cruises, and other trips as well.

I'll post a report when we get back.

gary

[Scarlet]

This is fantastic to hear!!  I have to admit that one of the things I fear the most is not being able to travel.  I grew up in an CDN Airforce family and feel like I have lived everywhere in Canada at least once    but I would not change it for anything. I am now a complete Gypsy and I love it. When we found out that I was losing my kidney function so much sooner then we had ever thought I was very scared that I would never travel again.

You, right this very moment, with this one post, have given me the best feeling and sense of hope that I have had in longer then I can remember.  I hope that you have the best Carnaval EVER!!!!

[carol1987]

Have a wonderful trip Gary!!!  I will be looking forward to your trip report!!
 

[billybags]

You lucky, lucky thing, I can see the palm trees swaying now. Have a lovely time.

[kitkatz]

Have fun!

[Riki]

YES!  We must have a trip report!  *G*

Scarlet, you can still travel on dialysis, even as a Canadian.. *G*  I try to go to the NYC area once a year, because my best friend lives there.  I have to pay up front for my dialysis treatments while I'm there, but the province reimburses me as soon as I get home.  I get a no frills treatment at a centre in Lower Manhattan.  It's just the dialysis, no medications or anything like that.  They don't even provide band aids.  I always brought my own.  It's $400 per treatment, and I schedule my visits so I only need 2 treatments.  The cost varies per centre.  One fellow in my unit wanted to go to Chicago, but he found out it would cost him $1000 per treatment, and he knew he couldn't swing it.

Traveling within Canada seems fairly simple too.  I went to Ottawa this summer, for a Michael Buble concert, and needed one treatment while I was there.  I just needed approval from the government here on PEI, which was fairly simple to get, and I didn't have to pay anything.

[GraphicBass]

Well, we're home and the cruise was FANTASTIC. Carnival has "fun ships" indeed! Once we passed under the Jacksonville bridge, it was party time all over the ship. From that point on, it was an endless array of activities, shows, entertainment and food! We ate in the main dining room all nights save one, and tried every buffet except the Mongolian Grill (and that was just because we didn't find it until the last day). There was even a sushi bar, which became our favorite place for pre-dinner appetizers.

Since I was well pumped up with Epogen, iron and Vitamin D before my trip, I felt very energetic and took in shows and activities from 7 am to midnight most days. My sister-on-law said she and her husband wanted to go back to their cabin in the afternoon and take a nap,  but were not going to be out-done by a man on dialysis. I don't know if she meant it or not, but it was nice to hear. I wasn't the "sick one" in the group!

Got back into Jacksonville, FL Thursday morning, and headed over to the FMC dialysis center.

Good  news: I had gained a net 0.2 kilos over the five-day period. My normal weight gain over two days is about 2 kilos. It appears all the buffets didn't stay in my system.

Bad news: Skipping a dialysis session resulted in blood "clogging" my catheter, which I guess is another term for "clotting". It took some effort to clear the line, which they were able to do and dialysis proceeded normally. Two days later, back at my home center, they had the same problem, but were able to inject a medication that broke up the clog. All sessions since then have been without difficulty.

My takeaway on this: Although you can skip a session, it's not a wise idea, and I won't do it again. Next vacation will be a land-based one, in which I can easily arrange dialysis without the difficulties presented by arranging sessions in another country.

All in all, a successful trip, even with the problems afterwards, and one that encourages me to take more of them.

Later...

P.S. I don't know if this is allowed, but I posted a detailed explanation of the centers I contacted (including in the Bahamas) and the results, plus my rationale for skipping a mid-week session at the cruisecritic.com forum at this link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1303858

[billybags]

Glad you had a good time.