Dialysis patient receives award

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Dialysis patient receives award: 25 years

Nannette Kilbey-Smith
Wilson County News
January 27, 2009

SEGUIN — Cynthia Garcia is the recipient of the Quarter Century Patient Recognition Program award, presented by Fresenius Medical Care North America, operator of the nation’s leading network of dialysis facilities.

The program awards patients who have been on dialysis for 25 years or more. As dialysis has only been widely available since the mid-1970s, this award not only honors the patient, but also highlights the viability of dialysis as a long-term treatment for end-stage kidney disease.

Garcia, of Gonzales, has been on dialysis for approximately 27 years. She suffered kidney failure as a child of 10 and has undergone three kidney transplants.

“The longest lasted five years,” Garcia said. “When I was told I had to go back on dialysis, I didn’t want to. Now, it’s OK.”

Garcia is a patient of Fresenius Medical Care Seguin. She dialyzes three times each week, for three hours and 45 minutes each time.

Garcia, 37, enjoys visiting her family when she is not dialyzing.

“I go to Fort Worth to visit my sister and her family,” she said. “I enjoy spending time with my nephews.”

“Cynthia is an inspiration for all our dialysis patients,” said Dr. Deandra Martin, medical director of Fresenius Medical Care Seguin. “By her example of long-term success, she helps other patients remain motivated and on track.”
“The diet is hard,” Garcia said.

Because of dialysis, she is restricted from eating potatoes, beans, bananas, cantaloupes, or dairy, for example. Also on the list of “no-nos” are dark sodas, like colas.

“But I watch my fluid intake and try to do what they tell me,” Garcia said.

“I hope that I can get another transplant and that it will work,” she said, thinking of her future. “For right now, I’m OK.”

Dialysis is a life-sustaining process that cleans waste products from the blood, removes extra fluids, and controls the body’s chemistry when a person’s kidneys fail.

Fresenius Medical Care Seguin is accepting new patients. For more information, call 830-303-1035 or 1-866-4-DIALYSIS (1-866-434-2597), or visit www.ultracare-dialysis.com.
 
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