It was April last year when Jean Aplin very kindly rang and asks me if I would like to consider organising a group trip for the whole of the UK. We had organised many group trips over the last 14 years ranging from about 20 to 40 people. They had always been from the same units or going from the same airports. So this was just going to be a progression from that. Jean and I thought it would be a great opportunity for patients going for the first time to know that they would have the support of other patients and also that their partners would have company whilst they were dialysing.

The venue was easy to choose. Having visited a unit in Crete and knowing what superb facilities they have, they are dedicated staff and the genuine nature of the Greek people made it the obvious choice. Everything was put into place and we launched the holiday at the conference last year. So months of organising then took place, yes for this that and the other. Dialysis sessions, fluid deliveries, choosing operators and airlines - in fact I think if we had been married we would have been divorced by now. June 8 duly arrived and 70 people set off from various airports in the UK. Everything went smoothly apart from the Manchester flight, which sat on the tarmac for an hour due to a technical problem, which is where the sweating started! It was good practice for those on the flight because they were going to do much more of that in the heat in Crete. We also had a patient who will remain anonymous who turned up with an expired passport.. So they missed the flight but after a few frantic phone calls we got them onto the next flight. I would just like to share a little bit of Crete with you for those who don’t know the Island. (A slide of Crete was shown with a music suitable for Greece).

The dialysis centre. It opened in November 2000, it was the long held dream of nephrologist Demetris Demitriardis to create something very special for dialysis patients and I think you will see he certainly achieved that. I have visited many units abroad as I have said and they are all excellent, but Mesogeios is something else! Where else would you find a grand piano, leather sofas and shining marble? Everything is spotlessly clean no matter what time of day. There are two dialysis units, one on the first floor, the other on the second. Each has 15 Fresenius machines, nurse stations and there are separate areas for Hep B and Hep C patients. The unit has its own emergency room, ambulance and also in the garden a beautiful swimming pool, with separate changing rooms and there is also a small bar there and there is a bar and café located on the first floor. The staff are superb and nothing is too much trouble for them. They really do everything that they can to make sure that the patients not only have the best treatment but the best holiday that they can.

Blood, Sweat and Cheers were the title, so we come to the blood. Gallons of it expertly filtered over 160 dialysis sessions by 10 nurses and a nephrologist is always on duty. Many of the partners accompanied their other halves for the first session and they enjoyed the garden, the pool and the bar. The conversations were flowing on the unit everyone was talking of diets, fluid restrictions, Fistula’s, football, holidays and Viagra. Coffee, tea, fresh orange, open sandwiches on freshly baked bread duly arrive, complete with feta cheese and tomato. There was a moan from the corner of the room. Mr Potassium as he was affectionately known screamed;” Tomato”! Don’t they know we are dialysis patients, I’m only allowed two slices a week? I can have two whole tomatoes and my wife allows me an inch of banana a day! Mr Potassium was horrified at the B word. It became very obvious after a short period of time that he knew the potassium content of everything. Voices hailed from around the unit “ How much in a vodka and tonic?” The list went on and on. A voice piped up “ Oi, we are on holiday. I hope you are not going to keep this up for the next two weeks?” One says “What a little bit of what you fancy does you good when you are on holiday” Another voice pipes up “ I quite like the look of that nurse over there”.

The doctor was then questioned as to the renal diets of his Greek patients and the local firewater. Was it okay to drink it? The raqui yes, the Ouzo no. He did not explain why! The banter was unbelievable and it didn’t stop for the whole two weeks, morning, noon and night. I think the nurses began to think we had emptied the local psychiatric ward not the dialysis ward.

Meanwhile back at the hotel the other side of the conversation. “I can’t wait to get him out the door some mornings. I get the bacon out, make myself a sandwich then spend the next few hours going round with the air freshener so he cannot smell it when he gets back.” “It’s not just me, I’m the same with kippers.” “You think that is bad I have taken to drinking my sherry at eleven in the morning.” “Perhaps you are an alcoholic, I only have one glass 3 times a week well sometimes two”! Then Keith who somehow managed to muscle in on the mothers meeting piped up from behind his paper, “Sometimes Margaret begs me to get my wok out!” Really Keith? Well we have heard it called something’s in my time but that takes the biscuit! We did just that, fell about laughing and Keith explained that the reason he gets the wok out is that he sings to Margaret like; Wok around the clock and wok you baby. Aren’t you glad you don’t live in that house?

Sweat! With temperatures reaching the thirties there was plenty of sweating going on. It was quite strange every morning to see the rush for the tables and chairs in the shade. It totally threw the Germans; they didn’t have to be up at five in the morning bagging the sun beds with their towels! A daily pattern started to emerge. Cup of tea, a bit of a chat, bit of sunbathing, dip in the pool and shopping. Now if shopping was an Olympic event then there were one or two ladies that would have brought gold back for England! I think their husbands had to re-mortgage whilst there. Despite the searing heat many of the patients in true adventure style took themselves off to many far-flung corners of Crete, taking in both the culture and the beautiful scenery that Crete has to offer. They organised a trip to the Gnossus palace, which is home to Minoan dynasty. We even managed to get two wheelchairs around the cobbled mountainous palace, which was no mean feat! This was followed by a tour of the local vineyard, the cellars, with wine tasting to follow. The wine tasting was followed by cheese and tomato- another great potassium fix! The Greek evening was full of action - we left the Greeks with a new game chase the waiter. In order to play you need several tipsy women, and an attractive looking Greek waiter. It also helps if your name is Shirley. There were one or two sore heads the next day not to mention sore quads. Many of the group found muscles they didn’t know existed. There wasn’t a walking stick in sight that night although the next day those with the wheelchairs were much in demand. We were in the middle of Euro 2004 and the hotel indulged us by showing the England games, plenty of more sweating there then! When England were knocked out I was glad that Greece went on to win, they had been such wonderful hosts.

The holiday went very well, but it wasn’t without a few problems. The major one being we had a patient that had fallen the minute he had stepped off the coach at his hotel, which resulted in him being hospitalised for ten days. He was eventually flown home with a doctor. It was really sad to see him so poorly when he had gone away with such high expectations from his holiday and spent 10 days in a Greek hospital. It was a very lonely time for him. I am glad to say all is well now.

We also had a problem with wheelchair access no matter how much we tried this wheelchair was not going into the bathroom so we had to move the patient to another hotel. Some of the group didn’t like the food, it was Greek! I have some slides now the patients on holiday for you to have a look at. (She then showed slides with a few comments with them accompanied with music).

Cheers! The object at the outset was to give patients and partners the opportunity to meet other people experiencing the same trials and tribulations in a relaxed informal atmosphere where they could share there experiences and support one another. Where they that were new to dialysis could take away relevant information from those with many years of dialysing under their belts. Solomon had spent 23 years as a dialysis patient; he is in his late 60’s and was an inspiration to us all. For those who had only been dialysing for a short while he was proof that with good medical care, good diet, and a good wife/husband it is possible to have a fulfilling life.

I would just like to share with you now some of the comments that were made by the patients whilst they were away in discussions that went on endlessly. It was interesting that many patients felt that information generally was hard to come by. In fact many were unaware of the NKF and its role. Many partners said that they would like to be involved in helping local KPA groups but were unsure how to go about it. Those that were actively involved with their local KPA’s encouraged them and I am sure many of them will now be doing something. Many partners felt that they were treated on a need to know basis by many of the medical staff they came into contact with and most of the time they didn’t need to know. Whilst others felt that they had been fully included. As with most things in life some people had good experiences whilst others were not so good. There was always praise for the nursing staff who most felt did an excellent job in quite difficult circumstances. I think many patients found it interesting to see how different things can be from one region to another. All of the patients were brilliant, not one of them complained about their situation. Everyone’s positive outlook just seemed to grow and grow as the holiday went on. Many found themselves doing far more than they ever do at home, walking further, dancing, swimming, eating better and drinking more. In fact by the end of the two weeks it was difficult to tell who the dialysis patients were. This was not the only thing to come out of the trip. It was wonderful to see how quickly and easily everyone gelled. I know lasting friendships were made, confidence was raised, relationships renewed and I would just like to share some of the comments with you that we received. They were put up on the screen for the audience to see. one of them was it was a fantastic holiday and couldn’t have wished to be with nicer people. It is the first time since I have been on dialysis that I have not felt a burden to friends and family. That was from a lady that was single that had gone on her own.

So cheers to Jean Aplin for the suggestion and cheers to everyone that made it a success and here's to the next one and thank you for listening.

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