After months of traveling 45 minutes each way back and forth to Stuart for dialysis three days a week, we’re very happy to be having our very last day of in-center dialysis this season. We’ve finally managed to secure a path to getting back to doing dialysis “at home.” It’s been a long road, because our initial “home” clinic in Tennessee wouldn’t let us proceed with home dialysis unless we came back for a monthly clinic, a 90-minute appointment that required us to travel 3 days (missing 3 days of dialysis as well), and spend over 500 un-reimbursable dollars just to be there. Since that was untenable for us, we opted to to “in-center” while we were here in Florida, but, as you know by now, that took up a lot of time, effort and fuel to do. Finally, we managed to persuade the powers-that-be to let us come under the auspices of the Port St. Lucie Home Health division until we get back to Tennessee under a different “home” clinic. It all had to do with the fact that Vanderbilt isn’t a full-blown Fresenius clinic, which is the chain of clinic with whom we belong, and as such, won’t let us keep their equipment while we travel around. By sticking with true Fresenius clinics, it seems we’ll be able to keep the same machine as we travel, and the real logistical problem is simply getting supplies and new “home” clinics whenever we move to a new location. We figure if we pick one central location in the area we want to travel to, we can circle around it for at least 2-3 months each, which should make it easier. Changing doctors is another matter, simply because one doctor can’t practice medicine in another state, even through a Skype or Telehealth conferencing system! Crazy but true! Anyway, with the help of the folks in Port St. Lucie, it seems like we may be pioneering a path for us to get on with our lives, living it the way we want, on the road! So as much as the people at the dialysis center have made us feel like family, we’re on to the next step!
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