The Campers Return

[Hephs-little-lady]

Well, Heph & I survived a week of camping, and you know what, dialysing in a field ain't so difficult. 

  The first day we went, we had a few ups and downs and I think Heph only did two exchanges all day, but that wasn't a problem really. As for heating the bags, it was mostly really hot, and if Heph puts a warm bag in when he's hot, he just feels sick, hot and dizzy, so cold bags were a winner.

We did however need to heat the first bag in a morning and the last one at night. We tried putting it between two hot water bottles, but found this didn't work for us. They did heat quite nicely in the sun, but, by the time he wanted one at bedtime, it had gone cold again. We found what worked best for us, was putting the sealed bag in a pot of boiling water and heating it on the stove for 10mins. It was really easy and effective, although we had to watch it closely as it could have overheated really quickly. We did this the first time and it took about 2hours to cool down.  Oops!

All those boxes of dialysate to take up a lot of room though, so if we went for more than a week, we'd have to find a better solution to storing the boxes. A bigger tent maybe! 

Over all, I think it was pretty easy and so nice to be able to get away and feel free. 

[goofynina]

Welcome Home you two!!!  Thank you for sharing your adventure with us,  now i know it is possible and i would love to plan a camping trip also.  Can you tell me, when Heph did his exchanges,  did he do them in the car?  I know they said you cant be where there is flowing air or anything like that.   sounds like you guys had a great time, hopefully your story will inspire more people to take the chance and go out and do something that they might've not thought possible.   

[Hephs-little-lady]

Heph just exchanged outside. We are in the UK and haven't been told not to exchange where there is flowing air, so we just sat outside at the table. You can do it in the tent too, and with the doors zipped up, there is no air flow!

He has exchanged in the car and although it is a little cramped, it works just fine. He sometimes has to put the drain bag outside though as he isn't high enough with it just on the floor of the car, it does work, but it takes ages. My mum has a 4x4 which is higher and it works really well.

I'd say go for it if you have the chance. It takes a little more organising, but hey, it's well worth it. 

[Epoman]

Pics?

[Hephs-little-lady]

Still on camera, haven't uploaded yet. Will do it soon! 

[Hephs-little-lady]

Dialysis by the tent! 

[Bajanne]

This is a lovely report.  I like to hear about people not allowing dialysis to curb their enjoyment of life.  And thanks for the pic!
Guys, we got some happy campers around here!

[Epoman]

Cool, thanks for the pic! This will show others that camping is indeed possible for PD users.

Now pics of you? 

- Epoman

[Sara]

Very cool!  Good for you guys!

[kitkatz]

That is great!  I love the picture too,  I think it is a good idea to get out there and do the stuff you love to do!

[Hawkeye]

Camping has to be one of my favorite things in the world to do.  My wife and I try to go as often as we can even if it is just for one night.  We have even taken several camping / hiking trips for our anniversary.  It's good to see the adaptation and will put forth to do something you enjoy.