It’s no fun being sick when you’re a child. I know this from experience.

I’m Shari Gilford. I like teaching kids, playing the piano, growing vegetables, and creating new recipes. Even at a young age I was always eager to try unusual food combinations and cuisines. As a young adult, I often invited my friends over to eat the meals I created from scratch.

In 2019, I decided to pursue further education in nutrition so I could become better equipped to do what I’ve always done… help others enjoy nourishing food. I started Full Table Nutrition because I believe delicious food is the key to good health. A full table is a table of joy, which nourishes spirit, soul, and body. It’s delicious at the table!

I was raised on organic vegetables from my mother’s garden, fresh air, and lots of love. I had a carefree childhood until age 8, when I began to feel tired all the time, had no appetite, was always thirsty, and only weighed 48 lbs. The doctor told my parents not to worry.

Three years later, I visited the Philadelphia Zoo with my family during the 1976 Bicentennial celebration. I barely had the energy to stand, let alone walk around the zoo. My parents knew this was not normal. Finally, after two weeks of extensive testing I received a diagnosis: end-stage renal disease (ESRD). My kidneys no longer worked. I had just turned 11 a few weeks earlier, and I thought “end stage” meant the end of life. I feared I would not live to graduate high school.

I had to begin dialysis after Christmas, and was unable to attend school during the second half of 6th grade. At the time, dialysis treatments were 5-6 hours long, three days a week. After the treatment I felt exhausted and would sleep the rest of the day. This was back in 1977 when kidney ​dialysis was a new field of medicine. Fortunately, treatment methods for kidney disease have improved since then.

I had to stop eating many foods I liked because they could literally kill me. I had to be careful when I went to a ​friend’s birthday party or to a slumber party. I couldn’t eat chocolate, potatoes, or salt. Good-bye French fries, potato chips, pizza, chocolate birthday cake, ​and all the normal treats 11-year-olds eat.

Even fresh, organically-grown vegetables ​from my mother’s prolific garden were banned, to my mother’s dismay. My favorites—tomatoes, spinach, and butternut squash—all had too much potassium, which could build up to lethal levels since my kidneys did not filter it out.

I understand how difficult it is to give up favorite foods in the interest of health. For me, it was a matter of life or death.

I also know what it feels like to be too tired to do anything. I know what it feels like to be imprisoned in my own body because ​of illness. And I wanted to be freed from the prison and be a normal kid. I didn’t want my sick body to be in control. I didn’t want to be on dialysis.

But I didn’t have a choice. The only other way I could literally stay alive would be to receive a kidney transplant.

Fortunately, after only 6 months on dialysis, I received a new kidney, donated by my loving and generous older brother! (And he’s never had any problems with his remaining kidney.)

​His amazing gift transformed my young life. I graduated high school and college and ​had many wonderful life experiences because of the health his kidney gave me. I also had so much more ​energy than my former self. That’s when I realized just how sick I had been. I never wanted to feel that sick again.

Did I mention that I love vegetables? After my transplant, to my great delight, I was allowed to eat all the vegetables I wanted!

Fast forward to today. I am the strongest and healthiest I have ever ​been, despite ten more years on dialysis, two additional kidney transplants, numerous other surgeries, and many rounds of antibiotics. Though I take transplant medications which suppress my immune system, I have not been sick in years.

I’m no spring chicken (you do the math), BUT… I don’t have aches and ​pains. I don’t have allergies or digestive problems. I sailed through menopause without symptoms. No heart problems, no high blood pressure, no diabetes, and no high cholesterol. I’m able to exercise and work in my garden. I’m truly thankful for the gift of health!

I wanted to share my story to show that even someone with a health history like mine can live a ​vibrant, healthy life. My dream is that no child will ever have to suffer in a sick body like I did. Every child deserves amazing health!

I often say, “I’m glad all I have is kidney disease and not diabetes!” I saw too many people at the dialysis clinic who suffered from complicated medical problems related to diabetes. This fuels my passion to help children (and adults) avoid diabetes.

Protect Your Child

FACT: Diabetes is one of the leading causes of kidney disease. As kidney disease progresses, dialysis or transplantation is inevitable.

You have the power to help your child avoid a diagnosis of diabetes. Let’s work together to give your child a healthy future.