As promised, here are some pictures of the dialysis unit I went to when I was in Florida. As promised, I will upload pictures of Disney World at a later time!
This is the dialysis machine being used
I am taking this picture lying down as you can see by my blanket. My blanket says “wrap me around you” in case you’re interested. Anyhow, the nurses’ station is to the left beside the lady in red currently on dialysis. Across are more stations
This strange computer thing seemed to be in between every two dialysis machines, as in, each one of these black screens controlled two dialysis machines. I forgot to ask what it was for. Anyone know?
Closer shot of the dialysis machine
My mini tv. I was watching the history channel. Heh
My outer right thigh (haha) and poor unsuspecting man sleeping.
Lights on top of every machine. They work in conjunction with the machine alarms. Green is good. Yellow alarms are iffy. Red alarms require attention sooner rather than later.
View Comments (3)
Hi Miz Flow - I'm new to your blog...it's great, inspiring and a rather enjoyable read! Thank you for sharing your journey with lupus.
May I ask, how long does the dialysis take and how often do you need to have it done?
Hi Tina,
Thanks for your message!
If dialysis is done in the hospital, it is done for 4 hours each time, and 3 hours a week. That is the standard time but may sometimes be taylored by the doctor based on the individual dialyzor's needs (i.e. some people may need 4.5 hours instead of 4)
I myself do dialysis at home about 5 nights a week overnight for 8 hours each time. It is done more slowly and while I sleep. It is more gentle on my body as the machine is run at a slower rate. I feel much better than I did while doing in-centre dialysis. It also saves me spending hours in the hospital during the day!
These pictures were taken while I was on vacation, so on those days while I was in Florida, I did the regular 4 hours, 3 times a week!
:)
I love the history channel as well :)