About
01
Who I Am ?
I am the author of Never Say Never: Living life with kidney disease from Victim to victorious. A couple of years ago I learned I was at end stage kidney disease and would have to make life and death decisions. My book is based on changing my mindset from playing victim to becoming a victor. As I went on this journey, I wrote a book and began focusing on creating my new life. My interests are many including yoga, dance, painting, traveling and healthy lifestyles. My profession is physical therapy and I am a yogi, Reiki master, actress, author, public speaker and dancer.
02
Beth’s History
Rochester, Minnesota, is where my father Bert went to anesthesia Nursing school at the Mayo Clinic and where I was born.
Most of my childhood was quote normal and was spent in Buffalo, NY with my parents, Bert and Rosemary Pitre.
Things changes as the family moved to Rosiclaire, Il. For junior high school. Rosiclaire is a small town at the tip of IL. and my dad had a job at the local hospital. My mother was a teacher at one of the local schools.
Friends from rosiclaire
Rosiclaire at the water front
03
Sweet Home Senior High School in Amherst, NY
In high school the family moved back to the same school system and same house I grew up in during elementary school. My grandparent, Lucille and John “
The Bull” had been living in the house while we were in IL., therefore there were 3 generations under one roof in a small ranch home.
04
SUNY Buffalo, Amherst campus
After graduation from Sweet Home Senior High School, I enrolled in a local university, SUNYAB and lived at home. My father at this time was working around the country and never home. And my mother took a principal job at a Catholic elementary school.
My plan was to become a physician however when my dad, Bert died at the VA Hospital across from when I was going to college in Buffalo, I changed direction and decided to be a physical therapist. My assumption was that if I was a doctor my patients would come first, my family would be next and I would be last on the list.
Things in my life changed drastically after my father died. I finished college with a BS in PT and started my career.
One of my many passions and hobbies was modern dancing and African dance. I danced with the local dance company in Buffalo called Gemini. I studied with the company and planned to tour in France and Africa but the art funds were cut and we never ended up going on tour.
My husband and I met on a sailing trip with a local sailing group and ended up moving to Charlotte, NC where Tim was a banker and I continued my PT profession. We had two beautiful sons named Jonathan and Hunter. Jonathan is in banking like his father and Hunter is now in the Navy.
Beths Sons
05
Tim and I divorced after abut 14 years of marriage. I continued with my PT career and blossomed. Opening my private Physical therapy practice was a courageous step. After some contemplation I chose to return to corporate practices.
My dream was to go to Africa to dance and drum and possibly work side by side with women who required surgery with urinary incontinence. That plan never came to volition due to many attempts and world situations that kept me from going with several group.
In my fifties that is when my renal function started to decease my nephrologist advised me to start dialysis since my kidney function was at thirteen percent. I declined. My family and my doctors all knew I did not want to live on machines.
06
I decided when It was my time I would go on hospice and die with dignity. Then I traveled the world making memories with my two sons and sought alternative medicines for kidney disease. Even searching and researching possibly going to India for a new kidney. Medicare would not cover expenses after surgery in India.
My son came to me again and invited me to stay on earth and start hemodialysis treatments. I changed my mindset from fear of living on machines to Being in Joy no matter what it looked like on the outside.
I decided at that point to start volunteering with the National kidney foundation and enjoying my painting and jewelry making along with knitting my knitted Love Child Head bands. All these ventures brought funds to my kidney fund for medical expenses and for a transplant.
07
In July of 2019 I started dialysis and in March of 2020 I had a transplant that never worked. I was back to square one on dialysis.
At this time, I decided to write a book about my travels and life on dialysis. Never Say Never Living with kidney disease from victim to victorious
To this day I am still seeking a live healthy kidney donor. Are you my kidney angel?
Not only did I write the first book I am now writing my Part 2 book “What Brand of Kidney Bean”. There is another story around that title.
