N.B. dialysis patients get early Christmas gift
Last Updated: Friday, November 20, 2009 | 2:33 PM AT
CBC News
Kidney dialysis patients in northwest New Brunswick have received an early Christmas present from the provincial government.
For years, they've had to travel to Saint John or Fredericton for treatment, even though the hospital in nearby Waterville has five dialysis machines.
Now the province is providing $170,000 to operate the machines six days a week, instead of the current three.
'It means she can enjoy a better quality of life and not be exhausted from travelling and worrying about the next trip …'— Kelly Atherton, daughter of dialysis patient
"There really is a Santa Claus," said Kelly Atherton, who has been driving her 72-year-old mother to Saint John from Woodstock for kidney dialysis three days a week, a four-hour round trip.
"You know, you watch the Weather Network with bated breath: 'Oh no, what's the weather gonna be like on Monday, Wednesday and Friday?' And it's scary."
Atherton said she had noticed the dialysis machines at the Upper River Valley Hospital were sitting idle four days a week and started asking health officials what was going on.
This week, her persistence paid off.
The machines will begin operating full-time once the Regional Health Authority recruits nurses to run them, said Health Minister Mary Schryer.
Atherton said her mother is elated: "It means she can enjoy a better quality of life and not be exhausted from travelling and worrying about the next trip and the expense of it all and the possibility of an accident on bad roads."
