Saturday, 26 May 2012 11:00

Give me the NxStage System One. I will not even ask for Eculizumab.

Written by  Kamal Shah
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I read this blog post yesterday by Sharon Whipkey about going on a holiday to Italy to her daughter's house. Sharon  went with her NxStage System One, did not have to miss her regular dialysis, did what normal people would do and probably, did not have to watch her diet and fluids! Sharon says, "It is a small miracle to be a dialysis patient and travel any where without going in-center for therapy."

So true!

The fortunate people of this world who have access to the NxStage System One are living their lives fully without any restrictions on travel. Yes, I am happy for my access to nocturnal dialysis and the ability to lead a normal life in terms of work, exercise, diet and fluid. But, like all humans, I am greedy. I want more 'normal' too! I want the ability to travel unhindered.

My parents are back from a fantastic trip to Darjeeling and Gangtok. I had half a mind to go. The problem was the usual one. The closest dialysis center was a good three hour drive away from these places. Not only that, I would need to dialyze in-center and that too not daily. Which means I would have diet and fluid restrictions. Which means my holiday would suck!

To me a holiday is not a holiday if I need to watch my fluids and diet. A holiday is not a holiday if I need to spend 4 - 5 of my waking hours on the dialysis machine every other day!

The NxStage System One solves all these problems. You can get nocturnal dialysis on a holiday in the comfort of wherever you are - a hotel room, a friend's house or even down a river!

The thought that is going through my mind at this point is this: Give me the NxStage. I will not ask for Eculizumab.

Eculizumab is the only way I can get a successful transplant. Without Eculizumab, I cannot opt for a transplant because my primary disease atypical HUS will recur (90% chances). With Eculizumab, the chances of success are 90%! The drug is not available in India and even abroad, the cost runs into crores of rupees.

However, I promise, if you give me the NxStage machine, I will never ask for Eculizumab. I will not ask for a transplant. I will happily spend what's left of my life on this machine. I swear.

... http://www.kamaldshah.com/2012/05/give-me-nxstage-system-one-i-will-not.html

Kamal Shah

Kamal Shah

Hello, I'm Kamal from Hyderabad, India. I have been on dialysis for the last 13 years, six of them on PD, the rest on hemo. I have been on daily nocturnal home hemodialysis for the last four and half years. I can do pretty much everything myself. I love to travel and do short weekend trips or longer trips to places which have dialysis centers. Goa in India is a personal favorite. It is a great holiday destination and has two very good dialysis centers.

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