Travel: Staying on the Road
By Lorraine Edmond
Being a hemodialysis patient does not mean necessarily giving up your love for travel. If you are in reasonably good health and plan ahead, traveling can be as easy and as enjoyable as it ever was.
Coping with renal failure creates stress for both the patient and family members. Getting away from the daily pressures and tensions and enjoying yourself in a relaxing environment helps to refresh and restore your sense of wellbeing.
At first, you may want to start small by planning a weekend getaway to visit family or just enjoy the luxury of a nice hotel. Once you are ready to travel more extensively, you will need to plan more carefully. Here are a few pointers from a fellow patient and Patient Leadership Committee member, Lorraine Edmond:
If you are on hemodialysis…
1. Decide where you want to go and plan for a few possible dates so you have back-up plans just in case. Plan as far ahead as you can since units in popular vacation spots tend to fill up fast.
2. Get the help that you need to plan your trip; for example, see your social worker for help finding dialysis centers located where you are going. Call all of the dialysis centers at your planned destination to check for available chairs. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Have all your information handy (for example, where you dialyze, contact person there, insurance information) when you call.
3. When you make arrangements, be sure to let them know of any special needs that you may have. You don't want to hit them with a bolt from the blue.
4. Make sure you clarify the financial arrangements. Pay special attention to co-payments, Medicaid policy and any pre-authorization requirements for your secondary insurer. Some units charge an added fee, a surcharge, for transient dialysis. Others as for cash payment.
5. Follow-up with your social worker to make sure that your medical records and other necessary reports reach the host dialysis unit in a timely manner.
6. Make sure that all of the above steps have been taken before you go. Don't get swept up in your planning that you go ahead without covering all the bases. You don't want unexpected expenses or other such surprises to ruin your trip.
If you are on peritoneal dialysis …
Many of the pointers mentioned above won't apply to you but you will need to pay attention to a few details:
1. Figure out your supplies. Carry enough solution to get you through at least one day of exchanges. If flying make sure that you carry your supplies in the plane's passenger's compartment.
2. You can ship additional supplies to your hotel. Make sure that you have a contact at your destination where you can get supplies should you run into an emergency.
3. Ask your social worker to help you locate a unit that handles PD patients at your destination. Call them and let them know that you will be traveling in their area. Check out their payment policy and the paper work required to access back-up services if you need them.
4. If staying at a hotel, call ahead and ask what their rooms are like. Simple things like the availability of a small refrigerator or an armchair in the room can make your life much simpler (beware of information from 800 numbers - many times these folks don't have a clue what the actual set-up is of any one hotel).
5. Experiment at home with innovative ways to hook-up your supplies. Investing in a small hook that hangs from a door can make life easier.
6. Pack your supplies so you have everything you need for an exchange in one travel bag.
7. Be flexible and creative.
8. Make sure you do all of your exchanges on time and for the length of time prescribed. Resist the urge skip a treatment. It might make your trip memorable but for all the wrong reasons.
There are a number of travel agents and organizations that specialize in making arrangements or planning trips and cruises for dialysis patients. The following web sites offer resources for travel.
Global Dialysis offers information for dialysis patients who want to travel nationally and internationally. Although the web site originates in England, there is a lot of useful information about travel in the United States.
To access its main page log onto:
www.globaldialysis.com
To read travel stories from patients traveling around the world go directly to: www.globaldialysis.com/traveltips.asp
Note: This web site provides instant translation into a number of languages including Spanish.
Dialysisfinder(tm) will help you to locate dialysis units throughout the United States by simply entering the name of a city or as little as a zip code. This is an excellent way to find the location of dialysis unit near your travel destination.
Or e-mail inquiries to: dialysisfinder@medicalpublishing.com
Last updated on: February 22, 2008