Bastrop woman honored after 21 years on dialysis

Bastrop woman honored after 21 years on dialysis - Celebration

By Wes Helbling
Bastrop Daily Enterprise
Thu Jul 03, 2008, 01:35 PM CDT

Bastrop, La. -

Peggy Lee of Bastrop received a “Life is a Celebration” award Wednesday in recognition of 21 years of well-being.

For more than two decades, Lee has spent four hours every other day receiving vital dialysis treatment.

Dialysis is a mechanical process that clears waste and excess fluid from the body and restores the proper balance of electrolytes to the blood for patients who suffer from chronic kidney failure.

Fresenius Medical Care’s Morehouse Dialysis Center presented the award to Lee in a celebration Wednesday morning, with the participation of her doctor, Herschel Harder of Northeast Louisiana Kidney Specialists, her family members and fellow dialysis patients.

“I feel fine,” Lee said. “It isn’t good all the time. Sometimes, it can be difficult.”

Born and raised in Mer Rouge, Lee is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Smith, who still live there. She has two children, Lester Lee Jr. and Latonia Lee Caldwell, and six grandchildren.

She is one of about 6,000 patients in Louisiana receiving dialysis treatment, according to ESRD Network estimates.

“I am pretty careful about eating the right foods, and I have a good relationship with my doctor,” Lee said. “The main thing is not to skip treatments.”

Lee said she used to go to Monroe three times a week for dialysis. The Morehouse Dialysis Center opened in 2005.

“We do like to celebrate when a patient has been on dialysis this long,” said clinical manager Angel Crawford. “We start celebrating after 20 years.”

The center has two patients who are passing the 20-year milestone this year, Crawford said, with the second Celebration of Life scheduled for October.

“I think that with a good outlook, controlling their diets and following doctors’ orders, dialysis patients can have a good quality of life.”

http://www.bastropenterprise.com/news/x1346877483/Bastrop-woman-honored-after-21-years-on-dialysis

PHOTO: Peggy Lee (center) received the "Life is a Celebration" on Wednesday at Fresenius Medical Care's Morehouse Dialysis Center.