I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: Traveling Tips and Stories => Topic started by: aharris2 on February 09, 2008, 04:26:28 PM
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Chapter One - After meeting with kitkatz, okarol, and livecam in LA, Rolando and I headed back to Las Vegas for Thursday and Friday dialysis and then, onto the Grand Canyon ... or so we thought. Thursday was uneventful. We arrived in LV late morning Thursday after a very enjoyable drive through the Mojave Desert. Rolando went to dialysis and then we went to a show that night.
Friday, we were going to dialysis and then on to the Grand Canyon. The first problem was our schedule - instead of the usual late morning dialysis, they scheduled us for 2:30pm. With a 4 1/2 hour run, that would put us on the road to the Grand Canyon at 7 pm - a 5 hr drive. Well, we sucked it up and planned an overnight stay at the halfway point with an early morning Saturday arrival at the Grand Canyon instead.
It seemed that fate would have nothing to do with that! Instead, 45 minutes before the end of dialysis, Rolando's catheter pulled most of the way out of his chest and one of the cap ends fell off. Friday evening! Any other day, we could simply have had it dealt with at an outpatient facility the next day. The dialysis unit took it quite lightly and suggested waiting until Monday morning to get it taken care of. We called the home unit here in Tampa. They strongly recommended going to the ER because of the loss of the cap end. We went back and forth for a while, wanting to see the Grand Canyon, but decided instead to delay it and go to the ER Friday night. They dressed it, prescribed antibiotics, and told us to come back the next morning to get the catheter replaced, which we did. We were finally on our way to the Grand Canyon at 4:30 Saturday afternoon.
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Chapter Two - We arrive at the Grand Canyon Saturday night. It was cold, but the ride was uneventful. we had a room in Maswik lodge inside the park - nice, comfortable. The next morning, Superbowl Sunday morning, I got up and looked out the window. It was pure white. Snowing. Blizzard conditions. A 4 foot snow drift outside of our window. I called the front desk and they tell me that those conditions will continue until midday Monday. The first problem was food. Getting from the room to the car to the lodge in a wheelchair in the fresh snow is quite an experience, but we did it, even though I haven't had to drive in the snow in 20 years. The next problem was seeing the Grand Canyon in blizzard conditions - you can't. We tried, but it is just like looking at a white wall - no canyon. Well, we had thought we would have to miss the Superbowl because of sightseeing in the Grand Canyon, but no. Watching the Superbowl was our only option. We got pizza, chicken, and beer and enjoyed a good game.
Monday came our real problem. Rolando needed dialysis back in Las Vegas - 5 hours away, but we were still snowed in. We scrambled. We got the Las Vegas unit to delay his dialysis until 2:30 pm, but that was still threatened. I had called DaVita Guest Services on Sunday to see if there were any units close to the Grand Canyon. There aren't!!! There was one in a remote location called Tuba City, 2hrs away, and a Fresenius unit in Flagstaff, 1 1/2 hrs away, but there was nothing more to do on Sunday. We called both units on Monday morning and found that all roads to Tuba City were closed so that left either Las Vegas or Fresenius in Flagstaff. Happily, the Fresenius unit went out of their way to accommodate us and scheduled us for afternoon dialysis 3 1/2 hrs instead of 4 1/2 hrs but better than nothing. The plows reached us at about 10:30 so we went to breakfast. While we were eating, we got a call inviting us in earlier for a full 4 1/2 hr session. Super! The roads were snowy, slushy, and then icy, but we got there. Thank God we had taken care of the catheter issue before going to the Grand Canyon - very lucky for Rolando (Yes, Rolando got lucky in Las Vegas :))
Best of all, because we were able to dialyze in Flagstaff, we were able to return to the Grand Canyon and try again to see it the next day, Tuesday. If we had had to go to Las Vegas for dialysis we would not have seen it. Tuesday was a beautiful day. although we had to fight the piles of snow and the snowy walkways with the wheelchair, we had some great views of the Grand Canyon. Happy and satisfied, and a bit wore out we headed back to Las Vegas at 5 pm to see a show at 10 pm and then to fly home the next day. It was quite an adventure!
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Sorry for your troubles but I do
hope you wish you would have enjoyed the Grand Canyon. What a turn of events that was. (reading your second post now)
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You guys and your trips! Exciting to say the least. It must have been amazing to have all of this happen to you just going to the Grand Canyon! I am glad you got to see it finally!
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Wow that's a great description of your trip - Alene you are an amazing woman to do all that driving! I am glad everything worked out - that's a trip you won't soon forget!
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My goodness, what a trip! Glad you got to see the Grand Canyon. Sorry you had such problems with dialysis and the weather not cooperating, though!
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What a trip!! Glad it all worked out though :thumbup;
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Glad everything worked out for you guys. RICO I miss ya in chat :grouphug;
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Chapter Three A - The Pics - "Wildlife"
1. Fox? Coyote? - What is that white stuff?
2. The Burros - No Rides Today.
3. The Deer - What white stuff? No matter...
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GREAT photos! :2thumbsup;
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Chapter 3 B - More Pics - "Pretty (what?) in White"
1. Bench at Desert View
2. View from the Watchtower at Desert View (A)
3. View from the Watchtower at Desert View (B) UFO???
4. View from the Watchtower at Desert View (C)
5. Further west
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Chapter 3 C - And More Pics - "Sunset at El Tovar"
1. Going...
2. Going...
3. Going...
4. Going...
5. Yes, we're going. Gone..until next time!
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beautiful pics , thanks for sharing
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Wow! What pictures and memories you have!
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Wow what an adventure! you guys did a fabulous job working around the unexpected issues. I am so jealous. You also took some wonderful shots of your adventure. You are both real troopers, bravo! :clap; .
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Awsome pictures :thumbup;
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Wow these are fantastic. Thanks for sharing them :2thumbsup;
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Beautiful Pictures. :2thumbsup; Grand Canyon is now on my list!
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I used to live in Arizona, so have seen the Grand Canyon several times, but never in the snow. Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!