Ok, I have been debating on whether to post this or not.
I have blessed with an extremely rare respiratory disease which has caused four restrictions in my bronchial airways. I have been in the hospital, mostly ICU, for the past 2 weeks but I am actually going home soon.
The outdoors has been my life, but as I have gotten older, my methods of enjoying the outdoors have changed from survival camping,backpacking etc. to RV'ing which I am not ready to give up. I am on o2 and may be destined for future lung transplant surgery but I feel I can control my rv environment much like my home one. Am I crazy? Should I sell my TT or are there others out there who think like me? If so, any suggestions? Please be kind.
I don't see why being on O2 should stop you from RVing....there are folks out there who are on it too and travel the roads....I've even heard of one who uses a portable kidney dialysis unit! As long as you can drive, then go for it....and if hooking up the trailer, etc gets to be too hard...switch to a Class B or small C and you won't need a toad...just hop out, plug her in and you are done in about 4 minutes with hookups.
Snowhawkwoman Big Owl dogs Xena,Phoebe,Spooker,Skippy,Zoe,PJ,Taz Punky - the amazing insane Rving Squirrel 1997 Fleetwood Jamboree 29' The traveling Zoo!
Wife is on oxygen 24x7. Look at an Eclipse concentrator by Sequal. Not cheap, but lets us go ANYWHERE (Last year was Newfoundland). Runs off 120 vac, or 12 vdc (cigarette lighter), or built in battery (so you can hop out and see museums and stuff). Get the optional large wheel cart.
Live Large!
Chuck
Wonderful Wife
Lovely German Shepherd.
1999 Mercedes ML320 TV
2003 Wanderer 187TB Toybox (3620# UVW, 4800# loaded) Not yet camped in Hawaii, 2 Canada Provinces, & 2 Territories. I can't be lost because I don't care where this lovely road is going
Like Chuck's post, my DW is also on O2 but not 24/7. The Eclipse is great and has been a life style changer for her for the past 2 yrs. In addition to advantages Chuck mentioned, it's approved for airline travel by all the airlines we've used. I have the signed Dr's script (needed by the airline) scanned as a PDF on the computer and merely type in the flight #/date and print it for the airline.
Lots of people RV with concentrators, nebulizers and other disabilities. Might make boondocking a bit tougher but even THAT can be done with the right equipment on the RV. AS long as YOU feel like giving it a try then I'd say "go for it". Good luck / Skip
2004 F-250 SCREW Long Bed (new)
OR 2004 F-150 HD (85,000 towing miles) Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
We have enough YOUTH...how about a fountain of SMART
By all means keep doing it, don't let anything try to slow you down. MY Dad was diagnosed with cancer awhile back at 74yr.old, but his dream was always to ride a motorcycle. So he went and bought a Honda250 scooter against better judgment , and we rode our bikes for two years going for breakfast every Sunday, and those days were the closest I've been to my Dad my whole life. We had more laughs in those two years then anything. I mean I was picking him up after he'd run threw the bushes, after he fell in soft sand you name it, but we had some good laughs. I think the hardest thing I ever had to do was sell that bike after he'd passed. I can't help think of the times we would of missed if he didn't buy the bike, and choosing to take everyone elses advice in just sit around for his remaining time.
Good choice of dog breed. I've owned Labs for over 50yrs
In June 09 I got out after 9days ICU for CHF. It was really too much salt and water intake, but what ever they want to call it.
I'm on o2 24/7 now and use Invacare units that I use with a 50ft hose or can refill one of four o2 aluminum cylinders for portable use in my 5er/car.
Two cyl's are small, about 3lbs, last about 5hrs each @ 3/Lhr use. Comes with a nylon bag to carry the cyl and store the hose. About 12" long and 4"dia.
Two are 8lbs and last about 18hrs each with a wheel cart. About 24" long x 4"dia.
Refrilling a o2 cylinder takes about 1hr or so on the small cyl's and about 2hrs on the large cyl's. The top unit is the one used for refilling the cylinders and is very easy too use.
You need too tell your home o2 supplier as you get out of the hospital that you want refillable cylinders as you travel by RV alot as that way the insurance will pay for the units. After 10mths you own the units.
If they haven't told you, always "look up" before you move or you'll fall down if you look down. That takes about 3wks too get over or did for me.
You'll only be disabled in your own mind if that is what you want!!! For everything else you'll learn too work around the new problems.
Almost forgot too tell you too buy a Pulse Oximeter, about $70 on-line, as then you can set your o2 intake level your self. Measures o2 and heart rate.
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T_Bone
02 F350, 4x6, CC, DRW, PSD, 6spd, 3:73
32ft Serria 10yr 100% Solar
Please do not trust everything you read on the internet. Use only valid engineering information from well established Companys.
Buy UNION Work UNION
It pays off in the long run !
Reading TBones post reminds me of our 'old' days with O2 cylindars and refilling them on the road. Been there, done that. Apria was 'sold' to us as a good national vendor which had a program to handle traveling patients. It was our 1st experience with O2 and didn't know how ins handled it etc. The hospital DW was at, had Apria rep come in and set her up and told us the procedure for refills. He verified the Rx and the ins. coverage, copied DW's medicare and medigap cards etc. We got a booklet with all their locations in the country and programmed all 600 or so into our mapping program. When we got replacement tanks/fill, we would receive the carbon copy of Apria's paperwork from that location and when we needed the next fill, we were to present that old copy to the new location who would take the info off for their new fill.
That process was flawless. Whenever I was down to 3 cylinders or so, I'd take the empties and make an exchange. I don't think I ever spent more than 5 minutes at one of their facilities. What we didn't know was that Apria's accounting system wasn't nationwide. Whenever we would cross into another Apria region (not like there's a sign along the road telling you that you're entering the mountain region, etc.) our paperwork apparently would get screwed up. They didn't have a national customer list nor were one region's computers able to access the data base of another. Each region's customer number started over so that if they have a dozen regions, there could be a dozen different patients with the same account number. It wasn't long before Apria accounting was no longer able to figure out who we were and were submitting ins. claims on other patients. We were oblivious of this for nearly 3 yrs and had no knowledge that they weren't being paid by medicare and that we, if effect, were deadbeats because of their accounting department. No one ever wrote us a letter to the address on file nor called us on the phone number on file.
When again hospitalized, DW's Rx was increased to a higher amount of O2. Since that would mean more cylinders or larger ones, I called her office of account to ask what we might have to do. We found that her account had been transferred all over the country and was then residing is X state. Got their phone number and spoke with X state mgr who told me we were deadbeats and now that he knew where we were, he'd call the manager for that state and DW was cut off from getting O2 - a life sustaining 'drug'. Couldn't believe that Apria would cut off O2 as a collection tool when the patient has medicare plus medigap which would pay for everything. Called our attorney who faxed a letter to an attorney on Apria's board and we had O2 delivered to our cg about 1.5 later.
Course we didn't want to stay with Apria so Lincare set us up shortly after with bottles and a concentrator and when we arrived at our winter site, Lincare had arranged for the Eclipse. What a difference dealing with a company that knows what it is doing. Our Apria experience ended 3 yrs ago and we still get letters monthly from one or another region's collection agency. Now have a form letter disputing the charges and giving them DW's medicare info and old medigap info, telling them that they had the info from the beginning and that between the two, the coverage would pay everything contracted for without copays to DW. The letter wishes them well on trying to collect a 3, 4, 5 yr old claim but that they should try because it is the only way they are getting a dime. Course ins will no longer pay since the claims are too old and Apria doesn't even try to submit any. Apria's collectors don't pay any attention to the letter and just keep trying to harass.
My point is that, IMO, Apria has earned, the hard way, the title of "Company To Avoid at All Costs" and I'm delighted to tell their story every chance I get. Apria, should you ever read this, if you don't like my publicity, call off your dogs and after they've been called off for, say as long as they've been harassing me - 3+ yrs, I might consider giving you a pass.
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