In August, 2010, my grandmother was diagnosed with a very rare kidney disease. The week after her diagnosis, she began dialysis treatments three times a week. Dialysis is basically a machine doing the work your kidneys should be doing. My grandmother's kidneys stopped working all together, therefore she needed dialysis to filter her blood on a tri-weekly basis. The only long-term treatment for Grandma's rare kidney disease is a kidney transplant. However, the doctors told my family, before we can go about getting Dolores a kidney, she needs to lose about 65 pounds, which is no easy feat for an Italian Grandma! Upon hearing this, my grandma tried watching what she ate and eating healthier, but it was very hard for her and she nearly gave up. She didn't change any of her habits, she just went to dialysis every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This is NOT the life we want for her though.
This past Christmas, my mom and my aunt decided we would do this diet to encourage Grandma to lose weight! So every two weeks, we all gather at my grandparents' house with our Wii and weigh in. Grandma has been doing the best so far! She had lost nearly 20 pounds! We are so proud of her! As for me, Sunday's weigh in brought my weight loss total to 16 pounds! Even though I hate dieting, I have been feeling so much better, and I'm ready for this healthy kick to be my new lifestyle!!
Lesson Learned:
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| My family, from 2008 in Lake George,NY |
WOW!!!! I am so impressed. I need to loss 10 pounds before next month. You have inspired me. I will keep you posted. How are the others in your family doing on this diet? dR. rIES
ReplyDeleteThat's so great Danielle! It is true, it can sometimes be very difficult to lose weight! I promised myself to go back to going to the gym at least once a week this semester and so far it has worked out! This story is inspiring!!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Dr. Ries, the rest of the family is doing great! Since New Years Day all 14 of us have lost a combined total of about 150 pounds! It's exciting! Melissa, I want to start going to the gym, but I can never find the time!
ReplyDeleteThat is really inspiring Danielle! I think its amazing that you are all working on this together and it probably helps to keep you motivated! If you ever find the time to go to the gym call me and I'll go with you!
ReplyDeleteWow! I think I'm going to share this with my family and get something like this going! My dad just received news that his health is suffering significantly and if he doesn't lose weight, there won't be many options for him! This is soo inspiring and I am sooo proud of you and your family! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! And Missy, it really helps to be doing it with my family! We all have "diet buddies' that we picked and mine is my Aunt! We text every day during the times we struggle with and it keeps us busy and out of the kitchen! haha
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