Not long before I head off with the NxStage and a ‘stack’ of supplies for my first holiday away with the machine in portable mode.
I had the quick training on assembling the stand and use of the dialysate bags last week, and it’s all very well structured and easy to do, so quite looking forward to trying it out. I have to say that given the simplicity of it all, it encourages me to travel further afield and try the machine in other countries. For travel in the UK, the NHS district have a ‘soft’ case I can use for transporting the machine, but for air travel etc, the machine can go in the aircraft hold in a more robust metalised case.
Set up of the machine for a session whilst away is very easy, and only requires a drain point for the waste – a handy sink will suffice. The drain lines are 20 feet long and you can chain more than one together if you need to reach further to that drain point.
Taking the dialysate with you for the sessions whilst away is a reasonable bulk, I use 30 litres of dialysate per session, so that’s 6 x 5 litre bags (per session). I have a Land Rover with plenty of space, so not an issue for the two holidays planned in the UK, but for foreign travel or for more sessions on a longer holiday, having Kimal deliver the supplies will be a huge bonus – and they can do this for many countries, so there is very little to limit travelling with the machine, and save having to find dialysis facilities locally wherever you go.
I normally dialyse daily for 4 hours per session, but for the two holidays away on this occasion I am going to revert to every other day, and see how I get on – enabling me to spend more time doing things and seeing the sights with my boys!
So, if you like to travel and want to ease the process, looks like the NxStage is an answer, and I note from the number of units now present on Global Dialysis, just one of many options!! I quite fancy Bali, haven’t been back since I’ve been dialysing this time around, and a nice new facility in Nusa Dua!! Next year maybe! (or maybe take the NxStage!)
I’ll report on how the dialysing away goes!
