Kidney Dialysis Center???

[rlbdisney]

My girlfriend is going to Disney this fall with her family and her mother is on kidney dialysis. Has anyone ever had to recieve treatment while on vacation in Disney or have a family member do dialysis while there. Any info would be great....questions they have are where to go, how did you get there, how long did it take to get there ect. Thanks

 

[kaytieeldr]

She REALLY needs to make arrangements through her current dialysis center!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rlbdisney]

She actually does it in her home. They don't want to bring all the equipment, it would just be to much.

 

[caitlinsdad]

Perhaps her Doctor can make recommendations on who to contact

 

[kaytieeldr]

Isn't she connected with a dialysis center at ALL? There should be a social worker who can help make arrangements. That's part of what they DO.

You've got to remember, even in a vacation destination, dialysis centers serve local residents first, and on a multi-day, regular schedule. It's hard to 'fit in' other patients. The patient's treatment has to be adapted to what hours/days/slots are available at a given center, not the other way around.

Plus, she'll be responsible for her own transportation (although that too is something a dialysis center social worker could help with). And she could find herself having to be somewhere at 5 AM; or at 11 PM; or right smack-dab in the middle of the day.

 

[laura forbes]

Try these links

www.dialysisfinder.com
www.kidneyfla.org.

I am not promising that you will get any information from the sites but at least there are numbers to call to get information.

I work in a Dialysis unit in the UK if we are helping our patients get holiday Dialysis we just call up the centres too see what they offer, I think since your MIL does home haemo that the same rules will apply although I agree with the previous poster that I think she must still be linked to a dialysis centre somehow and if so she should ask her keyworker for some advice.

 

[SueM in MN]

There are some links in the disABILITIES FAQs thread to past threads about dialysis.

Since you mentioned she is doing it in home, I am assuming she might be doing peritoneal-dialysis. If she is doing peritoneal dialysis, she should be able to get what she needs and do that in the hotel room.
If she is doing in home dialysis (not peritoneal), most people doing that do go to a dialysis center while on vacation.
I would suggest she contact whoever provides her equipment/supplies or her nurse (if she has home care supervision)/doctor for advice. They may have a local Orlando contact that could deliver equipment to the hotel or they may be able to arrange to ship what she needs.

Here are some links that might be helpful:
Link to a DaVita artlcle about dialysis and travel.
Kidney Foundation article about peritoneal dialysis.
Kidney Foundation article about Peritoneal Dialysis (with link to
Travel Tips from the Kidney Organization.

 

[Disney 4 2]

SueM is an expert on this site; read all her e-mail responses.

DaVita has a dialysis center in Orlando and Kissimee. The one in Kissimee is closer and takes out of town visitors all the time. Another big dialysis chain is Frescenius.

I think she may be correct in stating if it is home dialysis it is most likely peritoneal. If so like Sue's response get the home health nurse or social worker to help with supply deliveries to your resort.

All dialysis patients have a kidney specialist and are usually registered with a local dialysis center even if it is home dialysis.

I went to WDW in 2003 and 2005 on hemodialysis. The social worker needs to make the contact. The center usually needs the patient's medical records, a order, and a request for a time slot.

I went to the center in Orlando because I wanted to stay on my T-Th-Sat schedule. I had a driver and a town car because it was about 30 minutes away and we had flown in from out of town.

Hopefully going to WDW this September with a new kidney and no dialysis

 

[kaytieeldr]

That would be fantastic, Disney 4 2! Good luck with everything!!!!

 

[SueM in MN]

Hopefully going to WDW this September with a new kidney and no dialysis

Thanks for the nice words and lots of pixie dust to you.