Taking the Plunge and booking that Holiday
I would like to pass on to our members some of our family experiences regarding Holiday Haemodialysis and also CAPD.
After my late wife Margery’s transplant in the 80s we decided to have a holiday at our favourite area – the Norfolk Broads. After holiday consultation with our Holiday Nurse at the Northern Hospital, we were allocated a dialysis slot at a unit in Norwich. This turned out to be a great experience for us both and our Collie, Sandy! We were so impressed with the attention that we received that we applied again the following year and this time we got a spot at St Pagetts Hospital at Lowestoft. Once again our treatment was fantastic and the service top class.
The following year we decided to try further away to Majorca, and this where we started to realise that you can get your ‘away time’ if you go about it in the proper manner. We asked around our Unit and were told of a holiday company called Freedom Travel. At 11.45am on the following Saturday I contacted the company giving them details of where we wanted to go and where we wanted to fly from. At 12.20pm we received a ’phone call giving us our Hotel details, our flight times and most important of all, the dialysis times at a private clinic in Palma. They had also arranged for insurance, which, as most of you who have travelled will know, can be a bit of a problem.
The clinic arranges for all holiday patients to have early places, so that they do not miss out on their precious holiday time. The best part as far as the carer is concerned is that the waiting room is the pool outside! And for some reason I was also given free drinks and some food – they must have heard about the Yorkshire people being a bit tight with their money!
We returned back to the same area for a further two years, taking our family with us and then a couple of years later we decided to try Tenerife after hearing some good reports from fellow patients. Once again we booked through Freedom Travel and again got great service; everything arranged for us at a reduced price compared to brochure prices. Just make sure, when you book your taxis there that the taxi driver doesn’t think you are going to the delivery room!
Recently my daughter Lynn had to start CAPD due to chronic renal disease like her mother. After getting her blood results stable she decided to visit some relatives in Spain. Arrangements were made for her to have her fluids delivered to the relatives’ address, the waste was collected and everything went like clockwork. Recently Lynn had a live transplant from her brother and now, just like her mother, she is raring to go and get a bit of sun and Sangria!
I am now Chairman of our KPA and I have never had any doubt about saying to all our members, and I say the same thing now to you DO NOT BE AFRAID TO TAKE THE PLUNGE!! You will never regret taking that first step. Best regards, Roy Bradbury, Chairman SAKA.
The National Kidney Federation cannot accept responsibility for information provided. The above is for guidance only.
Page created: 8 July 2008
Last updated: 8 July 2008
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