Gift Guides•December 11, 2023•By mysistermademebuyit
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My dad was on dialysis for 11 years before he passed, which is a long time for a dialysis patient. Dialysis is brutal and really hard to go through, according to my dad. He was incredibly strong and even though he hated dialysis, he always went.
Dialysis is like having a full time job. You have to go three days a week – you never get a vacation from it – otherwise you can get sick. A lot of dialysis patients do not make it as long as my dad did. It was not like he was healthy by any means. We attribute his 11 years on it it to the fact that my mom never let him skip a treatment. He was adherent, consumed enough protein and did what he was told – even if he whined or complained about it. I admire that so much about him.
My dad loved buying gifts, but ironically he was so hard to buy for. Since he spent so much time at dialysis, we often bought him things he could use there. That is how I put together this hemodialysis patient gift guide.
These gifts could be good ideas for anyone, too! You can check out our other gift ideas here.
Hemodialysis Patient Gift Guide
Yeti Rambler with Twist Off Lid and Chug Cap (sold separately)- This is only 18 oz and keeps everything very cold. Limiting fluids is very important on dialysis, so this was perfect for helping to gauge how much he had.
12 Can Lunchbox – While this was not the exact lunchbox my dad had, this is around the same size and held everything for him that he needed to take with him – snacks, his Yeti, phone, headphones, and pills.
Noise Cancelling headphones with adapter – I am unsure if they have updated their tvs, but when my dad was doing dialysis, he needed headphones with a jack. Or at least he could not figure out how to do bluetooth. Haha. I would recommend noise cancelling as well because my dad would complain about the noise other patients made until he became the patient that was making all the other noise.
If they already have nice headphones, they can use this bluetooth adapter. Just plug it in and pair.
I Pad Holder – I thought this one would be good for dialysis patients because they could have to change their positions frequently, but it also folds up flat for easy portability.
Foldable blanket that can also be a pillow – Dialysis patients are often severely anemic and they keep the clinics cool – so patients are almost always cold. This is a travel blanket that can fold up into a pillow or be used as a blanket.
trtl travel pillow – My dad’s head always fell to his side when he slept so I bought him this pillow you can easily wrap around your neck for extra support. He hated it because he was claustrophobic, but it was a good try.It is a great travel pillow. I like it because it does not fall in the middle of a snooze.
Large pill travel container – Dialysis patients usually have to take like 16 or more pills a day with every meal and snack — and they are big pills! This helps to ensure they are always available after a meal.
Canvas tote – we used a canvas tote from LL Bean as his dialysis bag. This is where he would put his blanket, lunch box and anything else he was bringing to treatment that day.
Fistula access hoodie – This is a great one because usually dialysis patients cannot wear long sleeves. However, the access opens in the sleeve so they can stay warm during treatment.
