Dialysis: An International Perspective

July 15th and I am a married man, two weeks later my wife and I were on a flight from Ontario to South Africa.  Not a big deal under routine circumstances except for two things.  First my wife is diabetic and second I have End Stage Renal Disease which requires Hemodialysis three times a week in order for me to survive.  Lastly, the flight to South Africa takes 12 hours.  On a flight of that length one must make sure that they get up and stretch every two hours and drink plenty of fluids.  That last point I can’t stress enough, I failed to do so and suffered with dehydration, luckily my wife recognized the symptoms and nursed me back to health.   

Flying halfway around the world is not easy for a healthy person, let alone someone who lives with limitations.  I know you’re saying to yourself how did I set up dialysis treatments in such remote locations?  Well think about this, if you were going to take a trip to California what would you do?  Let the dialysis staff know what your plans are and adjust accordingly, right?  Traveling to another country demands the same due diligence and advanced planning beforehand.  Once I got the clearance from my doctor and staff to make the trip it was a matter of setting up dialysis treatments in the places that I intended to visit.

I think the biggest misconception among dialysis patients is that the quality of dialysis outside of western civilizations is sub-par and primitive.  Nothing could be further from the truth, there are tons of websites that point out the quality of dialysis treatment centers all over the world.   My trek from Capetown through Hermanas was a wonderful experience. The dialysis technicians were not only extremely knowledgeable, but refreshingly competent.  In fact I learned a few things about managing my condition from each dialysis center that I went to.  I have posted a picture of me at the dialysis center in Capetown where I was treated to a grilled cheese sandwich, a cup of coffee and one of the most comfortable beds that I had ever been in at a dialysis center.  This bed had a remote control that allowed me to move it into various positions, have you ever seen anything like that in the states or Canada?  I think not.  The machines that they used were imported from Germany and were the latest and top of the line in that they don’t use saline but water.  Using water makes the dialysis process smoother with less side effects contributing to overall better health.   

With everything good there has to be a bad side right?  True, my superior dialysis treatments was a direct result of private coverage, meaning that as a cash paying customer I was given priority and the best treatment options.  Prior to finding the correct department I ended up in the public sector where dialysis patients cannot afford the treatments and therefore receive inferior treatment this means that the dialyzers are used on more than one patient which greatly affects lifespan and quality of life.  This is the flip-side and one hopes that the government there will find viable solutions to the problem in Capetown.  Johannesburg didn’t seem to have that problem, their dialysis center was open 24 hours a day like a burger joint. This works out for those who work odd hours. 

My point is even though we may have physical limitations, life doesn’t.  Whether you’re 22 or 82 the world is a big place don’t feel sorry for yourself get out there, travel and open yourself up to adventure.  Life is way too short not to, some of my best memories came from traveling off the beaten path.  Until the next time see you next week..

http://www.globaldialysis.com/