‘In an ideal world, I would have had this a long time ago.’ This has the potential to benefit a large number of individuals.’
Sarah Newman has been requesting a new cloud-based home dialysis machine from the P.E.I. government for two years, claiming it would be “life-changing” for her and other patients.
However, due to P.E.I.’s privacy rules, the Charlottetown woman claims she has been told she can’t have the Amia machine with Sharesource, which is offered by Baxter.
Because a patient’s information, including details about their treatment, is downloaded from the machine to the cloud, the P.E.I. government has highlighted it as a privacy violation.
Newman, 31, received a kidney transplant in 2017, but it has failed, and she is now on the waiting record for a 2nd transplant.
Since she returned to dialysis, a treatment that stimulates the activities of healthy kidneys, Newman has been requesting the Amia machine.
Newman has chosen to do dialysis for around 40 minutes four times a day while she waits, which limits the amount of time she can work at her job as an educational assistant because she has to return home to conduct treatments.
“When I first started dialysis two years ago, my goal was to do dialysis overnight at home so that I could work full-time,” Newman explained.
“Right now, I can only work for four hours because I have to go home for dialysis.”
Better option
She called the current system “ancient and obsolete.”
Newman explained, “It doesn’t have the correct settings that I require to be able to do dialysis at night painlessly.”
“When you’re in agony, it’s difficult to sleep. It’s difficult to do work during the day and accomplish your goals if you don’t get enough sleep.”
Newman claims that the new equipment is smaller and more portable, allowing her to travel.
“It would be simpler to go somewhere for a single night. It’s a lot lighter, “According to Newman.
“That would be incredible and life-changing, especially when travelling and driving. Everything changes as a result of it.”
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