RIVER CRUISING AS A DIALYSIS PATIENT

Cruise on the MV Mozart from the perspective of a dialysis patient

The first thing to emphasise is that river cruising on the MV Mozart down the Danube is an extremely relaxing and pleasant way to spend a week. The food is very good indeed and while eating too much of it may be problematical for a renal patient, you can afford to treat yourself a bit; it's only for a week!

The scenery was amazing and the weather superb when we went - the first week in August. I suspect if you opted in to all of the activities on offer it might become very tiring - but with the option of relaxing on board always available, I didn't regret a bit of judicious selection and avoided getting too tired. The visits to Budapest and Bratislava were the stand out ones for me.

What about the dialysis? There were two nurses and one doctor on duty all the time I was there and they were very efficient and supportive though not always particularly warm in their approach. They all spoke English to a degree and this obviously serves to give the patient more confidence. It is always slightly worrying to be away for one's regular renal unit but after the first session I felt much more confident. One slight issue was that none of the staff were conversant with buttonhole needling; but to their credit they had a go and with some explanation and advice from me - the doctor became very proficient.

I was very pleased with the level of treats we were given while on dialysis; including coffee and cake and on one memorable afternoon - beer and sausage with pretzel!

In conclusion the dialysis was a well -managed and comfortable experience with no real negatives to report. All in all, it was a memorably relaxing holiday.