A Carnival Cruise Line ship left Miami on Saturday with a disabled woman's dialysis machine aboard, but without the passenger and her family.

Carnival officials said in a statement Monday that the dialysis supplies had been given to a porter at the cruise terminal, but it was unclear if they'd actually made it aboard because the ship's staff couldn't locate them.

The Miami-based cruise line said that since the dialysis supplies were missing, officials decided that it would be in her best interest not to sail.

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Carnival said its records showed the passenger had said she would be carrying the medical supplies aboard herself, in keeping with its standard procedures for these situations, but didn't.

The supplies were located after the ship sailed and will be delivered along with their luggage to their home in Boynton Beach when the ship returns on Thursday, Carnival said.

The incident however is raising questions about the precautions travelers should take when traveling with specialized medical equipment. Experts say life-supporting devices should be kept close at hand.

Andrew Garnett, president and chief executive of Special Needs Group in Dania Beach said when dealing with critical pieces of equipment such as dialysis or CPAP (sleep apnea) machines, passengers should carry it aboard themselves.

By doing this, they "make sure they know where it is at all times," said Garnett noting that luggage often goes missing or is mishandled in transit.

Special Needs rents and deliveries medical equipment and mobility aides to cruise, airline and hotel travelers including motorized scooters and oxygen.

Cruise agent Roberta Schwartz of Imagine Your Vacations, a Cruise Planners/American Express franchise in Plantation agrees. "Hand carry it. Don't let it out of your sight."

Schwartz, a past director of education for the Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality, said in some cases travelers may not be able to do this if the equipment is heavy. When it's an option, its best to rent the special needs equipment and have it delivered to the stateroom so it's there upon arrival, Schwartz added.

Lillian Hensley, 66, of Boynton Beach, and her family were scheduled to leave on a five-day Caribbean cruise aboard Carnival Destiny on Saturday before being booted off the ship.

"They put us out with nothing," said Hensley on Monday, recounting the ordeal.

Hensley was traveling with her son, daughter-in-law and 45 year-old neurologically impaired daughter Christine, when they were told they'd have to get off because the dialysis machine couldn't be found.

When asked: "Can you sail without it?" Hensley had replied "Absolutely not," which sealed their fate.

Since then Lillian has been manually administering dialysis to Christine, which she said isn't the same as using the machine.

Steve Debroux, president and owner of Dialysis at Sea Cruises in Odessa, Fla., said dialysis patients who travel with equipment need to think of contingencies. "What happens if there's a technical problem with the machine?"

Not all cruise lines for example are equipped to deal with dialysis patients.

Case in point: Medical centers on Carnival ships do not provide dialysis treatment.

Debroux's outfit specializes in cruise vacations for hemodialysis patients. The company provides medical equipment and staff aboard the ships to care for them. The firm works mainly with Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Holland America ships.

Carnival said Monday it sincerely apologizes for the "most unfortunate situation" and is giving the Hensley party a full refund and a future credit for a five-day cruise.

It has also offered to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses associated with any treatments needed while Hensley awaits the return of her medical supplies.

Staff researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report

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For a dialysis patient, healthy veins are a life line. But sometimes when Renal staff plan to create a permanent vascular access (called  an AV fistula) to facilitate the necessary blood flow for hemodialysis, they find a patient’s veins have been damaged from previous IVs or lab work.

Renal staff have been working with Interior Health’s IV therapy team on ways to better preserve veins for these patients, and many of these strategies have been successful. Still, Interior Health Vascular Access Coordinator Angela Romyn wondered if there was more that could be done. In a great example of innovation and patient-centred thinking, she came up with the idea of Save the Veins bracelets. These are bright purple rubber bracelets similar to the popular “Livestrong” bracelets.

“We have had people ask about a bracelet and thought this would be an extra step to build awareness among patients and various hospital departments,” says Angela.

“This is a first in the province and when Angela shared this idea with the provincial group, they were really excited and would like to adopt it,” says Sue Bannerman, Interior Health Regional Director, Renal Program. “Like they say, good things come in small packages. This small thing could make a big difference to our renal patients.”

The bracelets are being distributed throughout Interior Health to all pre-dialysis and hemodialysis areas for patients who wish to wear one. “It is our hope that these bracelets will help with the flagging and education of pre-dialysis and hemodialysis patients and also empower patients in the protection of their own veins,” says Angela.

The bracelets are free of charge. They are not mandatory for patients to wear and they do not replace the BC Renal Agency wallet card.

For more information, contact Angela at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or 250-862-4189.

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