“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” For Brenda Newton, medical challenges have let her “make lemonade” time and time again.
Diabetic to Dialysis
At just 16 years old, Brenda Newton received news of a diabetes diagnosis. “Being a diabetic at age 16 caused me to go into kidney failure. It caused me to end up having a heart problem, having heart failure, pain, several things like that.”
It wasn’t until Brenda reached her 40s that she started feeling sick more often than not.
“I have been on dialysis for quite a few years – even before I was coming [regularly] three days a week. I would get sick and have to go to [emergency] dialysis. I did that for several years. I kept getting sicker and sicker. Once I started dialyzing on a regular basis, I got better.”
The 1%
It wasn’t until Brenda reached her 40s that she started feeling sick more often than not.
“I have been on dialysis for quite a few years – even before I was coming [regularly] 3 days a week. I would get sick and have to go to [emergency] dialysis. I did that for several years. I kept getting sicker and sicker. Once I started dialyzing on a regular basis, I got better.”
While reporting improvement in health, Brenda continues to struggle with her body’s response to medical necessities. Reminiscing 27 years of being sick, Brenda shares her frustration, “[Medications and treatments] work for 99% of people, but I fall into the 1%. I always fall into the [small] percent risk of issues from kidney disease. I had a huge blood clot in my leg earlier this year. The doctor tried to put a fistula in my thigh, causing a blood clot.”
Though life has taken a turn for Brenda, she remains steadfast in her dialysis community.
“I have been around [the clinic] so long. You become a family at the clinic. They know what you’re going through. It takes a person on dialysis to truly know how a person feels and how a person thinks. There is no judgement.”
-Brenda Newton
Finding a Community in Dialysis
Surrounded by her dialysis community, Brenda radiates positivity and gratitude for those who support her.
“When you have somebody, friends at the clinic, they truly understand. Other people don’t, and even if a person says, ‘I understand,’ they don’t.”
With services provided by the East Tennessee Kidney Foundation, Brenda is able to attend her life-sustaining treatments. “Everything is so expensive, and I’m able to get back and forth to dialysis”
After all that she has gone through, Brenda keeps on fighting.
Continuing the Fight
“You know, before I got sick at the age of 40, I always wanted to travel and was able to. Up until I got here, I had a good life. I was able to do things, it’s what I always wanted to do.”
Having three granddaughters, Brenda is kept busy cooking and baking. “[My son] is teaching [my granddaughters] how to cook, he is going to teach them to sew so they can take care of themselves. They all have their casserole dishes, we’ve made casseroles, cookies, cupcakes, and each one has their own pans, apron, and cuttery sets.”
When spending time with family, Brenda reminds her grandchildren to avoid drinking sodas and to watch their diets. “You would hate for them to grow up and be like me.”
A Reminder From Brenda
Brenda stresses the importance of taking care of one’s health to everyone.
“Diabetes is a nasty disease. It destroys everything – all your major organs, it destroys them. Anybody I talk to, I tell them, please take care of your kidneys. You don’t want [dialysis] happening to you.”
Having extensive experience in medical challenges, Brenda asks, “Please sign your drivers license and please be a donor. Because here in Tennessee we don’t get enough people donating organs.”
Be the Match: Become A Donor Today
There are over 15,000 people in Tennessee currently living with kidney disease and that number continues to increase every year. However you can help make a difference by registering to become an organ donor today.
Kidney donation is something that can be provided by a living donor. Living donors allow for an immediate impact and help spare patients long wait times by being on a waiting list.
In 2023 more than 6,900 transplants were made possible by living donors.
You can help save a life today by registering to become an organ donor on your drivers license or becoming a living donor.
Tennessee Donor Services provides a variety of resources and information about the donation process. Click the link below to learn more about how you can have an impact on someone’s life today.