Chester man turns illness into a positive for school

CHESTER The great optimist and author Dale Carnegie once said that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Borough resident Brian Dreisbach put the Carnegie mantra into practice when he used his empty dialysis boxes to craft sets, costumes and props for the Cerebral Palsy of North Jersey Horizon High School drama productions.

Since 2010, Dreisbach, 47, has worked at the Livingston school which serves about 95 children with a range of disabilities. As a rehabilitation technician, Dreisbach adapts everyday items so they can be more easily used by the students.

This is where the lemons come in.

Dreisbach has chronic kidney disease and has been on home peritoneal dialysis since 2011.

Dialysis is a process that cleans waste products from the blood and removes extra fluids when a kidney fails. Dialysis patients typically require treatment on an ongoing basis unless they receive a kidney transplant.

The dialysis that Dreisbach has allows him to visit his dialysis facility, Fresenius Medical Care East Morris in Morristown, monthly rather than three times each week, which helps him maintain a busy schedule and work full-time.

The treatment has contributed to his work at the school in another, unexpected way.

School Play

Each year, the students at Horizon High School put on a play. But the schools budget is limited so Dreisbach recycles the boxes from his home dialysis equipment to help build the sets, costumes and props.

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Chester man turns illness into a positive for school