Martin takes dialysis unit on canoe trip
KIDNEY patient Martin MacRae will achieve a UK-first when he embarks on canoe and camping trip next week with a revolutionary portable dialysis machine.
The 53-year-old, who has end stage kidney disease probably from an insect bite while working in America, will set off on the six-day adventure from Fort William to Inverness on Tuesday. En route, the novice canoeist will dialyse in a tent each day for three hours using the lightweight machine which will be transported in a support vehicle and be powered by a portable generator.
The former oil worker, of Ness-side, Inverness, is one of just two patients in Scotland to have use of the innovative NXStage System One, which is about the size of a sewing machine.
Until recently, he had to attend Raigmore Hospital three times a week for four-hourly haemodialysis sessions which left him exhausted.
Mr MacRae, who says the machine has dramatically transformed his life and given him the freedom to undertake his trip, is now hoping to raise £50,000 for the hospital’s renal unit to buy three more.
"I think I am the first kidney patient in the UK to take my dialysis machine on a canoeing and camping trip," he said.
His own degenerative kidney disease probably resulted from an insect bite while working in marshland in southern USA in the wake of the hurricanes four years ago.
"I didn’t realise until later that night I had been bitten," he recalled. "My leg started throbbing and after three or four days I started to put on weight with all the fluid retention."
He was diagnosed with focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a scarring in the kidney.
Mr MacRae is on the waiting list for a kidney transplant and began haemodialysis at Raigmore Hospital last year. He was recently given the chance to try out home dialysis using the portable machine which costs on average £150 to install as opposed to £5000 for a more traditional unit.
It automatically sends information to the renal unit has made a huge difference to his everyday routine. Going to hospital three times a week meant leaving home at about 7.30am and spending about five hours on the renal unit.
"By the time you get home, you feel washed out and exhausted," Mr MacRae said.
Now, he dialyses six days a week in the comfort of his home for shorter periods and would like to see more kidney patients have the chance for home dialysis.
Home dialysis for suitable candidates is available but only those who have a large enough house for the traditional, cumbersome machines, whereas portable machines are usable in most homes.
He also hopes his trip will raise awareness of kidney disease. "Things happen in life but it doesn’t mean an end to it," he said. "You can get up and make the best of what you have got, if you are prepared to give it a go. Whenever you get knocked back, and I have had some real setbacks with kidney disease, you have to keep going and get on with it."
* To support Martin in his venture, go to www.justgiving.com/Martin-MacRae
