I am off to Chennai for a week this coming Monday, the 2nd of August. Guess why? Yes, Fresenius, the world leader in dialysis machines is starting a training program for home hemodialysis. I will be the only person undergoing this training to start with. My needs are slightly different because I have been doing daily nocturnal home hemodialysis for more than four years now. I have had a tech to help, of course, but I am able to do most of it myself. So, I have a specific set of training needs which the Fresenius team will be fulfilling.
Subsequently they have plans to start home hemo training spread over 6 weeks for those who want to take up this modality. That training will be from scratch.
This is huge!
I honestly did not expect this to come to India so soon. Well, it is really not that soon but judging by the way things were going - a urologist had once asked me why I needed so much dialysis - I really did not expect things to fall in place so quickly. The Fresenius team is very committed to this and let's hope this commitment continues.
The other person who is involved closely with this endeavor is Dr. Georgi Abraham, senior nephrologist in Chennai. Dr. Abraham is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of peritoneal dialysis in India. His contribution to home hemo will be most welcome.
What am I looking for from this program? The main thing I am hoping to learn is about managing emergency situations. For example, how do I handle a needle that has dislodged from the site? How do I handle hypotension and cramps? What do I do if I need to discontinue a session midway?
I am hoping I will be able to learn these things and get a little practice too.
I hope to have a reasonably good internet connection while I am in Chennai. I will blog the progress and happenings each day. I am really excited. Hopefully this should open the floodgates for home hemo in India!
Subsequently they have plans to start home hemo training spread over 6 weeks for those who want to take up this modality. That training will be from scratch.
This is huge!
I honestly did not expect this to come to India so soon. Well, it is really not that soon but judging by the way things were going - a urologist had once asked me why I needed so much dialysis - I really did not expect things to fall in place so quickly. The Fresenius team is very committed to this and let's hope this commitment continues.
The other person who is involved closely with this endeavor is Dr. Georgi Abraham, senior nephrologist in Chennai. Dr. Abraham is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of peritoneal dialysis in India. His contribution to home hemo will be most welcome.
What am I looking for from this program? The main thing I am hoping to learn is about managing emergency situations. For example, how do I handle a needle that has dislodged from the site? How do I handle hypotension and cramps? What do I do if I need to discontinue a session midway?
I am hoping I will be able to learn these things and get a little practice too.
I hope to have a reasonably good internet connection while I am in Chennai. I will blog the progress and happenings each day. I am really excited. Hopefully this should open the floodgates for home hemo in India!
Comments
Imran
Best wishes always
Miriam Lippel Blum
Tracy