Judy Weintraub
Born and raised in New York, Judy Weintraub moved to Los Angeles, after graduating from the Bronx High School of Science. Judy holds degrees in Special Education from the University of Southern California (Master of Science) and Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles (Bachelor of Science). She began her career working with pre-school deaf children and their parents at USC’s John Tracy Clinic in Los Angeles. She spent several years as an early intervention specialist working with parents of newly diagnosed hearing-impaired infants and toddlers. Later, Judy taught and supervised graduate students during her years as Adjunct Associate Professor at the USC School of Education.
Judy lives with chronic renal failure since 1975, doing kidney dialysis almost exclusively since she began treatment at age fifteen. She is a health advocate, motivational speaker and writer. She is the recipient of numerous service awards for her work in the renal field. Judy founded and served as president of the Los Angeles Chapter of The American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) for more than a decade. She served on the AAKP’s National Board of Directors in numerous capacities, including Convention Chair, Program Committee and Executive Committee. She presents extensively at both patient and professional conferences and her articles have been published in Renalife, Nephrology News & Issues, Home Hemodialysis Today, Blood Purification, For Patients Only, The Renal Rehabilitation Report and RenalWeb. She served as a member of the board of the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California and on the editorial advisory board for Nephrology News & Issues. Judy recently completed a project as writer/editor for the online educational resource, Home Dialysis Central, a division of Medical Education Institute.
Judy’s currently busy at work on the documentary, Life On The Bridge… A Journey with Dialysis. In it, she weaves together her personal story, interviews with others living with dialysis, as well as insights from physicians, nurses and people in the health field. The film raises awareness about the powerful role attitude can play in shaping a life, regardless of the circumstance. Judy continues to spread her message, raising levels of expectation, as she speaks to nurses, physicians and doctors-in-training around the country.
The treatment modality of choice for Judy (since 2002) is nocturnal home hemodialysis. She does 7-hour treatments, 4 nights a week at home with her husband, Joel (and they’ve only been married since ’07! But that’s another story…) Just like the postal service, neither snow nor sleet keeps her from doing those treatments. For more information on home hemodialysis, click on the following link: http://kidneyschool.org/m10/8/ .
Judy also loves, we mean loves, food. Farmer’s markets, restaurants, cooking, baking, eating - she loves it all. She’s the creator of the food blog, http://bumbleberrybreeze.com - where she writes about life, cooking & baking -- simply, healthfully and with joy.
“Our greatest freedom is the freedom to choose our attitude.”
-Viktor Frankl