The "Trying to Normalize", edition.

Good Thursday morning. (Yes, it's now Sunday...I got a little busy!) Feeling a bit contemplative this morning.  Several events in the future are coming up...out of state. Thinking of the logistics make my head hurt.  The regional conference for the sorority is in Tucson, AZ, March 8-11. Then there is the national conference in Houston in early July, 7 days.  Then there is a high school reunion in Detroit at the end of July, 2 days. I'd like to go to all. But logistics and planning. Dialysis!! :-/

Yes, my dialysis machine is "portable". All 75 pounds portable. But there is so much more than just the machine. There are the supplies that go along with it. Some supplies we take with us. Some supplies are shipped by my dialysis center. And some supplies are shipped by NxStage, the dialysis machine company. I am responsible for..and there must be enough for each day and extras for that just in case error.."portable supplies".  So for each treatment I will need...2 bio hole fistula needles (pic below), 2 syringes without needles, 1 syringe with needle, plastic tape, paper tape (to secure my needles), gauze pad, sterile pads, medications, alcohol wipes, betadine wipes, sterile gloves, face masks, Purcell, antibacterial soap, blood pressure cuff, thermometer and paper towels. I draw the line at the scale! We also need a sharps box to dispose of used needles and syringes. 

The dialysis clinic ships saline bags. Nxstage ships cartridges for the dialysis machine and the bags of dialysate. 7 bags of dialysate per treatment. Each box holds 2 bags of dialysate. Lots of boxes. And. NxStage will only ship for trips of three days or more. *Sigh. 

So. For Tucson, I can dialyze the evening of March 7, fly into Tucson on March 8, then fly back home on March 9 and for tratment when we get home. The no treatment out of town option. Or we can do the all day drive with all of the equipment. Treatment on March 7 evening. Free travel day on March 8. Treatment on March 9 and March 10. Travel on March 11 - no treatment. And resume treatment March 12 at home. I forgot to mention that I have to change how o do treatment when I travel. At home I do it during the night while I sleep, 5-6 hours,me very other night. I have a special unit that I use instead of the dialysate bags.  But when I travel, it takes too many dialysate bags, I have to do treatment 3.25 hours 5 days a week. Yeah. Trying to figure out equivalencies. And yes. It is a hassle. Will it be worth it?  I'm still thinking about it. 

For flying to Houston and Detroit, it's actually easier. We've done the week long trips before. I have a hard case suitcase just for supplies.  And yes, there are some parts of the dialysis machine we have to disassemble for it to fit into the travel case...like the IV pole.  So we're also transporting tools. Anyway. I also opt to travel first class now because of the equipment. Even with out first class there is no additional charge for medical supplies. It just makes the travel a bit easier and less stressful. 

When we fly we have 5 pieces of luggage. The 1-dialysis machine, 2-the supply suitcase, 3-the handcart for the dialysis machine, and 4-a suitcase for Brian and 5- a suitcase for me. And of course our carry ons. And because we've contacted NxStage and my nurses, our other supplies are waiting at the hotel. And yes, I'd contacted the hotel ahead of time to let them know that packages will be delivered in my name. And no, I've never had an issue. I've detailed the experiences in previous entries. 

So. Right now Brian and I are debating what we're going to do. We both really want to go to Tucson, but the hotels are filling up quickly. Perhaps another time. We'll see. 

That's it for today. This week we'll have some Las Vegas winter. Got up to 70 yesterday. Today it stays in the 50s with the high 30s in the evenings. No regrets. None. Some one asked me where I was from. I said Detroit. I was corrected. I am now from Las Vegas. Detroit is my hometown. I concur. Have a great day!  

My home hemodialysis set up.  Those things that say15G are the needles I insert into me. The vial of medication is heparin. It prevents clotting. Clotting during treatment sucks. 

The hard case for flying. It weighs 24 pounds. So with the NxStage weighing 75 pounds it's just light enough for free. Heh. 

For the road trips. The hard sided case is mandatory for going thru checked in luggage. We've seen that 99 pound package on a carousel. Who does that? Lol.