Traveling Stories

[Sluff]

If you have a story to share about traveling while on dialysis this is the place to share it.

[kitkatz]

I just got back from Palm Springs where I dialyzed three times in center.  I had no problems getting a spot. I always let the social worker know three months in advance when I need a spot. Some places need ample warning in order to get a spot in a chair for you.  Hawaii has a twelve month or more wait list for a dialysis chair.  The dialysis center in Palm Springs is clean and the techs are friendly.  However I am a four hour run and they would only do 3 and a half hour runs.  I was okay even with the runs cut by half an hour.

I have traveled quite a bit over the past nine years on dialysis.  I have been to:

Williamsburg, VA - Dialyzed in Richmond at 5a.m. The 45 minute drive was a major pain both ways.  The dialysis center was hard to find.
Pismo Beach, CA- Dialyzed in Santa Maria about 20 minutes away. Nice center.
Oceanside, CA- Dialyzed in Encinitas, about a 20 minute drive on the freeway.  Hard to find the center.  Well hidden in a medical building.
2 x to Lake Tahoe, NV/CA-  Had to drive to Reno, down the mountain and around the corner in Nevada.  About an hour and a half.  This center calls me at 6 a.m. one day and asks me why I am not there for treatment.  It seems Noone told me I had an early appointment!  I told them I would be there as soon as possible. It was an hour drive.
2x to Palm Springs, CA- About 2 minutes away from the condo.  Practically across the street from where we were staying.

Planning to go to Milwaukee in March and Winsdor, CA in June.

[Adam_W]

I've taken three weekend trips from Indianapolis to Terre Heute, IN (about 70 miles) since I started dialysis. The first trip I dialyzed in an FMC centre there. The centre was new and there weren't very many patients so it was nice and quiet. The staff was very nice as well. It was really hard to find, though because the sign for it is really tiny and it's in the same building as a bank. The other two trips I just took my NxStage machine and enough supplies for two or three treatments, depending on how long I stayed, and dialyzed in my friend's living room. I did have some problems with my friend's five cats wanting to bat at my bloodlines. I'm wanting to get the aluminum travel case for the NxStage so I can go back to taking the bus, and not have to find a ride when I want to go visit these friends.

Adam

[livecam]

Ok Mr. Sluff..we went to Hawaii four times, Vegas twice, and Germany once while on dialysis.  The change of scenery is really important to a dialysis patient.  It is sort of a reminder that things get better and a preview of what life might be like again once a person gets a transplant.  While I'm certainly no Bill Peckham, I enjoyed every one of those trips and they really improved my outlook at those times.

I won't mention the two trips I took without dialysis while I was on dialysis and should have been on dialysis.  I'll just say that I'm lucky to be here and that plan isn't recommended.

[Zach]

I was in Hong Kong and Shanghai filming a documentary. I dialyized on Monday in Hong Kong and later that day flew to Shanghai.  I was scheduled for my first dialysis session in Shanghai on Wednesday, so the day before, I visited the hospital to check out the equipment.

The Doctor refused my request to see the dialysis machine and filter, so I decided not to take chances on BIG RED and tried to fly back to Hong Kong, where treatment was a joy.  Unfortunately, the flights to HK where all booked.

I waited from Tuesday to Thursday and still no luck.  So instead of flying to Hong Kong (this was before Hong Kong reverted back to China in 1999) I flew to a southern province of China, and then somehow caught a boat to Hong Kong.  I finally got to dialyize on Friday morning.