People Celebrating life despite setbacks

Celia Kanter celebrated a remarkable 40th anniversary on Friday. It's not a milestone she ever wanted, yet one she welcomes.

The 77-year-old Newport Beach resident has been on kidney dialysis without pause for four decades.

That could very well be a world record, said Edda Spinelli, regional director of Newport Beach Dialysis, where Kanter has gone since 2000.

"It's like living with a cold every single day," Kanter said. "I'm not 100 percent, but I've been able to lead a normal life."

The dialysis machine filters toxins from Kanter's blood - a task healthy kidneys would perform. The process consumes 3 1/2 hours, three times a week.

"It gets boring," Kanter said. "I read, watch TV and talk to other people."

Kanter was diagnosed with kidney disease at age 30, only a few months after she and her then-husband adopted their baby.

She went on dialysis seven years later.

Her sister offered to donate a kidney, but the blood types were a poor match.

After a few years managing well enough on dialysis, Kanter said, she decided to stay the course - even as the transplant surgery became increasingly advanced and common.

"A friend of mine had a transplant that didn't go well and the kidney had to be removed," Kanter said, explaining her reluctance.

Doctors, nurses, friends and family squeezed into the small reception area of Newport Beach Dialysis to honor Kanter's spunk and determination. Spinelli presented a plaque to her as admirers - including Kanter's 98-year-old mother - nibbled cake and sipped sparkling grape juice.

"She is amazing and inspirational," said nephrologist Dr. Eric Wechsler. "Celia's positive attitude rubs off on other patients."

Nora Matsumoto, 67, of Fountain Valley recalled how Kanter lifted her spirits when she started dialysis 16 years ago.

"Celia helped me a lot," Matsumoto, a retired nurse, said. "She told me what to expect and allayed my anxieties. She said, ?It's not that bad.' "

Kanter's frequent dialysis appointments made her career as an elementary school teacher impossible. For a while, she worked temporary jobs - "until I realized I didn't get a degree from UCLA to fetch my boss coffee," she said.

So Kanter took tax preparation classes, worked a while for H&R Block and then started her own business. She often calculated numbers while undergoing dialysis.

Throughout it all, she doted on her child, served on school committees and kept her bridge club going.

"Her doctor told her she wouldn't make it to my 10th birthday," said Kanter's daughter, Caryn Schultz, 47, a mortgage broker. "She always tells people, ?I live for my daughter.' "

Kanter also carved out time to see the world.

"I've been on 14 cruises," she proudly shared. Some cruise companies provide dialysis services. And when traveling to U.S. cities, she arranged for dialysis at other clinics.

Kanter retired five years ago while battling breast cancer. Osteoporosis - a side effect of kidney disease - has limited her mobility.

"She lives with a lot of pain, but never lets on," Schultz said. "I appreciate every moment I have with her."

Spinelli owes Kanter's longevity not only to her cheerful outlook, but also her adherence to dietary restrictions - so rigid, few patients can keep up.

"She treats dialysis as a job," Spinelli said. "She is her own best caregiver."

Under the umbrella of Fresenius Medical Care, a national chain of 2,200 dialysis clinics, Newport Beach Dialysis treats about 46 patients a day.

More than 400,000 people a year undergo dialysis in the United States. "The number has been growing by 20,000 a year as baby boomers age," Spinelli said.

Dialysis is covered by Medicare regardless of age.

Kanter laughed when Matsumoto suggested she would live to be 100, as did her late father.

"I'm not sure about that," Kanter said. "But I educate myself, watch my diet and do everything I'm supposed to do. So who knows?"