Parts of Asia

[ianch]

In December 2011 2 months after getting a tunnel line burried in my neck, my wife and I went to Asia - wasnt going to cancel just becasue of a little ESKD :-)

We stayed in the Philippines for 3 weeks, in Zambonaga - a place thats not very weathly and a few hostile inhabitants.   3 days per week I was at a private hospital.  It was pretty basic in terms of facilities but awesome service.  I think i'm the first westerner they've seen, which is unsurprising as US citizens are barred from that area.

Overall very impressed and cheap at only NZ$100 ($80US) per session.

Then went to Singapore with the family of 8.  Much better dialaysis facilities but shocking service.  Very rude people and the price was SG550 per session.

Didnt need dialaysis in Malaysia as we only went for Xmas eve dinner, and retuned to Manila on Christmas morning.

Quite keen to go to Vietnamm, Spain, or Turkey but need to wait now as wife pregant.     
 

[MaryD]

What's a line tunnel?  Do you still do home haemo with it.  I'm sussing out ways to do HD when I run out of options with PD.

It's marvellous that you can go gadding about doing haemo.  I hope you have many more travels to come.  Turkey is one of my favourite countries.  I was working there for a year which included the 50th anniversary of the ANZAC landings.

[ianch]

Tunnel lines are only used in emergency.  An emergency is basically when health system failed to pick up a problem until I had no function left.  Its a line in the neck artery thats tunneled under and out the chest.  The skin-tunnel is used to prevent infection as the artery feeds the heart.

I went overseas with it in but the doctors didn't like that.  Infections can be fatal with tunnels and another complication is the line can get get absorbed by the artery wall which can make it impossible to remove safely.

No you cant do homeD with it in.  They insist on the fistula in NZ and it has to develop first.

Traveling is a challenge to manage and the cost can put you off.  I believe traveling internally (NZ) is free as is going to Australia as there is a bilateral agreement.  But the US is expensive.

I looked at setting up a NxtStage in the Philippines as we have a house there, but the cost was 40,000 + consumables with no Philippine support.  Also Nxtstage only goes for 3.5 hours where I do 8-10.  So just no value for my situation.   Easier to be in-centre, with 3 weeks only costing $1,000. 

I'm looking to set up a travel assist online package to help people get into travel.  I'm about to launch a web channel that includes HemoD Treatment monitoring software and tools to assist in improving treatments.   

 
     


 

   

[Henry P Snicklesnorter]

.