While some district patients travel three times a week to Thunder Bay for hemodialysis treatments, others instead have had to leave family and friends to move to the city to live.
One such patient, Ronald Jewett, got a first-hand look Monday at his opportunity to move back to Fort Frances after visiting the site of the dialysis unit now under construction La Verendrye hospital here.
“It looks great,” said Jewett, who dropped by the two-room site, located in the day hospital area, along with his sister, Carol Pollard.
With exposed lighting, insulation showing on some walls, and a bare concrete floor, the area may not look much like it will once completed. But Pollard noted it was still “very interesting” to see.
“It kind of finalizes that it’s coming–we know what’s going on now,” she remarked.
Jewett had moved from Fort Frances about three years ago. “I did the home dialysis for a few years, and then I had to switch to hemodialysis. It was tough,” he said.
Since then, family has gone to visit him there because Jewett can’t always make it back here with treatments slated three times a week. In fact, he took treatments two days in a row (last Thursday and Friday) so he could visit this past weekend.
“It’s a long drive if you do it by yourself,” said Jewett, noting that in his often weakened state, he has to stop and rest several times during the trip.
And travelling usually is the last thing he wants to do since treatments can be draining.
“You have to watch what you eat because it takes a lot out of you. If the treatments take too much, it’s a strain on your heart,” he remarked.
Pollard attested to the difficulty of having a hemodialysis-dependent loved one live several hours away.
“You can’t be home for Christmas or other holidays. You could get stranded here and to someone who needs the treatments, that could be life-threatening,” she said.
The dialysis unit is expected to be completed sometime in June, with cabinets and shelving to be installed by mid-July. Dr. Bill McCready, who is in charge of the unit here as well as the one at Thunder Bay Regional Hospital, then must give the final word, which won’t happen until after nursing staff go through a 10-week training period.
He previously has said it likely would be operational by September.
But Pollard can hardly wait for her brother’s treatments to start.
“I am one anxious sister. The anticipation level is high, I’m just so excited about him coming back,” she smiled. “The family love him coming back home again, to share and do things together.
“He’s got some of his stuff ready to move. He was packed for May but it didn’t happen,” she added. “It’s not supposed to be ready until September but summer will go by fast, I’m sure.”
Once operational, up to 24 district patients will benefit from having the unit at La Verendrye.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
