Touring WDW while on dialysis

[FrankDIS72]

I am currently a dialysis patient and I receive treatment 3 times a week. My doctor is setting me up for home dialysis and I start shortly. Some days I feel like I can climb a mountain and other days I feel like a truck hit me. If I visit WDW, I am afraid I will be curled up on a bench somewhere, too exhausted to move. Has anyone on dialysis toured WDW? What are some survival tips or things I need to know before I go?

 

[natfrac]

My DH was on hemo dialysis for 9 years and we went to WDW every other year. We went for two weeks so he could relax on his dialysis days, but we'd often end up at the parks in the evening. Survival tip would be to take breaks when you need to. Sometimes DH would sit on a bench while I wandered through shops. We also ate TS meals each evening not only as a break, but it allowed him better control over his diet. Don't worry too much--DH always had a great time.

BTW, our next trip will be the first time in 9 years we won't have to deal with dialysis. He had a kidney transplant two months ago

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Home hemo is so much better than in center. It's much more gentle on the body. When DH was in-center, he'd come home and crash for 6 hours. With home hemo, once his body adjusted to it, he was able to go walking and do other things almost as soon as he would get off the machine.
We've done several trips when he was on dialysis (he's 2 years post transplant...oh, congrats natfrac! ) Make sure you bring all his supplies, or have them delivered to the hotel. Notify the hotel that mousekeeping is to leave the medical supplies alone, and keep them put away neatly. Don't forget your manual and sharps box! We would haul the trash out, to make it easier on mousekeeping. Although, DH did have to leave a massive tip when he was in Vegas at a conference once; he was by himself and didn't tighten the connection quite good enough. It slipped out and sprayed the room; looked like a murder scene by the time he got it under control.

You'll want a way to keep cool. We used a combination of fans and wet cloths. Wear a big brimmed hat for extra shading (DH likes the safari type). Take breaks as you need, don't push as much as you're used to. You have to balance your need for hydration so that you don't dehydrate yourself. Take the hottest part of the day off. As far as meals, you have to stick to your diet as much as possible.

Make sure he has a medic alert bracelet. If you are separated, and anything happens, it's very very important.