by Bradley Hartsell
Dr. Gregory Knowlton of Atlanta Nephrology stands with patient Sherri Peres of Newnan, who’s been
living healthily despite being on dialysis for her kidney disease for 30 years.
Sherri Peres of Newnan recently celebrated a healthy 30 years while on dialysis.
The facility in which she’s been treated at – Atlanta Nephrology – honored her for maintaining a healthy lifestyle despite being treated for so long for kidney dysplasia, which means her kidneys never developed properly. After coming down with pneumonia, she was diagnosed at 15 years of age with the lifelong kidney disease.
At age 17, she began dialysis to treat her kidneys, which grew only to the size of that of a 2-year-old.
“I was always kind of anemic when I was little. Now, I’ve been on dialysis longer than I ever wasn’t, and it was hard, especially as a teenager. You think you're invincible,” said Peres.
In many ways, Peres overcame her illness by beating the odds. She studied culinary arts in college while receiving dialysis treatments at night. After graduating, she began managing Domino’s Pizza.
When she and her husband, Nate, were expecting twins, doctors advised her to get an abortion because healthy births for the mother and the baby are uncommon. The Pereses opted against their doctors’ advice, and though one twin was miscarried, they have a healthy 21-year-old daughter studying cosmetology at West Georgia Technical College in Newnan.
“I believe you just have to do what you have to. I’ve had that attitude of having my whole life – you can’t give up,” said Peres. “A lot of older people I know who are on dialysis, I see them give up. I can’t imagine ever giving up.”
Peres grew up in Iowa, but because of her husband’s work – he started as a Domino’s delivery driver and kept working his way up – they continually migrated south. Three years ago they moved to Newnan, and although Peres hasn’t worked full-time since 1999 due to her health, she’s passed the time by raising the 13-year-old son she and her husband adopted.
“He plays basketball and soccer at Arnall [Middle School]. He’s growing up too fast,” said Peres with a laugh.
Peres is said to be an inspiration to both the dialysis clinic staff and to her fellow patients. Peres says she is honored to serve as a role model for others in the area. In fact, 17,500 people in Georgia rely on dialysis as a life-sustaining treatment.
The experience has inspired Peres to write a book in order to educate other patients on the best way to approach life on dialysis.
“It will be like ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ but for dialysis – like, how to watch fluids, and your potassium, and substitutes you can eat for foods,” said Peres. “It’s amazing how many people simply don’t know or care enough to know, and that’s sad. I do everything I possibly can, because my son is 13 and I need to be around for him when he grows up.”
While awareness about kidney disease is higher than it used to be, Peres says she’s often asked why she doesn’t simply get a kidney transplant. She actually received a transplant in 1985, but the transplant only lasted 10 months. Since then, she’s been on a waiting list. Transplants aren’t as quick and easy as people tend to think they are, according to Peres.
So much about what she’s learned in these 30 years has led her to wanting to pay it forward.
“I just want to help people, because so many people have helped me. I’m lucky enough to have great doctors to sit me down and educate me, because I was a teenager and I was irresponsible with what I ate and didn’t always take my medicine,” said Peres. “It’s not a perfect life, and I’ve had hurdles, but through resiliency, I want to inspire another person.”
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