Transcription:

Caitlin Whyte: As soon as I asked Beverly to tell her story, she said it was unique, and she was right.

Beverly Rupert: I am an insulin-dependent diabetic. I have had diabetes since my late 30s. And unfortunately, it did affect my kidneys as well as some other issues. And I have had about a 25-year battle with kidney disease. And eventually, I ended up on dialysis. And that was kind of like an emergency situation at the time. The doctor was trying to prolong me needing dialysis, but we reached a point at which I had no choice.

Caitlin Whyte: She spent six years on dialysis. And during that last year, she put on some weight.

Beverly Rupert: I put weight on like oh my goodness. I felt like the Stay Puft Marshmallow guy, because my kidneys didn't work.

Caitlin Whyte: Beverly was on five different blood pressure medications during this time. At times only a few, but sometimes it was all five at once. She was working with dieticians and going on different diets for different types of dialysis, but nothing seemed to be getting the weight off. When another doctor recommended yet another medication, she finally hit a crossroads with her kidney disease.

Beverly Rupert: I had to make a choice. Take the medication, but the problem would still be there and go and be taken off the transplant list or stop the medication, lose the weight and go on the transplant list, which is the option I chose.

Caitlin Whyte: It was then she decided to get a gastric sleeve put in, in an effort to lose the weight needed to undergo a kidney transplant. So she was sent over to Dr. Michael Bilof here at Good Shepherd. However, he told Beverly at that time he had never done this surgery on a person who was on peritoneal dialysis like she was. But Beverly said the surgery went beautifully.

Beverly Rupert: There were no problems whatsoever, which is a concern being diabetic and everything. But I had absolutely no problems. Dr. Bilof's surgery was in February of 2018. I lost a lot of weight.I was able to get my transplant. I got the call in May of 2019. I received my transplant on May 12th, which was Mother's Day. In 2019, I surpassed my hopes for weight loss and I have continued to lose and lose because my body works properly now. And I have lost 155 pounds, maybe a little more by now. I was 284 pounds at the beginning of my journey.

Caitlin Whyte: Two years ago, she said she was wearing a size 24 and now she's down to a size 8. And Beverly could not stop raving about the team at Good Shepherd who got her here.

Beverly Rupert: I'm a new person. I worked with Dr. Bilof. I worked with Anna, the dietician; the support, Michael; I mean, Jessie, everybody there, Julie, I mean, you name them and they supported me and helped me because it was not easy, you know, with all my other issues, but they were there for me and they all supported me and gave me that shot in the arm that I always had seemed to need. They knew what to say and just how to handle things. And I owe so much to Dr. Bilof for taking a chance on me. And well, I'm less than half of what I was and I'm a new person in every way.

Caitlin Whyte: Beverly isn't on any of the five blood pressure medications she started with. She's recommended the gastric sleeve to friends who have then had similar success stories. She says she hopes she can share her story and get other people to change their lives just as drastically and positively as she changed hers.

Beverly Rupert: I'm so grateful and I want to share with everybody and I do. If you don't feel well with your weight, for whatever reason, don't be afraid. Everybody's like, "Oh, you would do that." I said, "Absolutely." Absolutely, it's the best thing I ever did for me that led to the kidney transplant, which is the absolute best.

Caitlin Whyte: Now, like she mentioned, it wasn't all smooth sailing. There were bouts of depression having gotten to a point where she was on all those medications and fighting with her body to get it to work right. But the positivity from her team kept her going along the way.

Beverly Rupert: When I would go there, everybody was so friendly and happy and up and they said, "Oh, you're looking so good. Even if I didn't think I looked good, they would say that. They encourage. And Michael, he listened and so many people don't listen and Dr. Bilof listened and he really cared. And you knew it. I knew it and I still do when I see him. He wants to know and he's not just saying it, nor is anybody there. They truly are happy to see you and they really care about you and how you're doing.

I want to encourage anybody. When you have no hope and when you're feeling uncomfortable and you're overweight and you're whole world seems like, "Why am I bothering." I speak from so many obstacles I've overcome, there is nothing you can't overcome if you find the right doctors to help you and Garden State is the right place to go.