A Precious Gift

A s a first-year pediatric resident at Texas Tech Health El Paso, C. Annette Reyes, D.O., knows how a physician’s empathy can lift a patient’s spirits. She experienced it first-hand as a teenager struggling to survive kidney disease.

In 2010, when Dr. Reyes was in her junior year at Bel Air High School in El Paso, she began to experience a concerning series of symptoms, including fatigue, easy bruising and vomiting. After examinations, tests and consultations, her pediatrician gave her and her family heartbreaking news: Her kidneys were failing, and the disease was end-stage. She would need daily dialysis, and ultimately, a new kidney to survive.

At only 16, Dr. Reyes was in the fight of her life. For nearly a year, she underwent nightly 11-hour peritoneal dialysis – a toxin-cleansing treatment – before a donor kidney became available.

As a student enrolled in Bel Air’s Health Professions program, she knew that patients who maintain a positive outlook often have better health outcomes. Throughout her treatment, and as she prepared for her transplant, she stayed optimistic. If she could get a second chance at life, she told herself, she vowed to pursue her dream of becoming a physician.

The transplant was a success.

“My experience as a pediatric patient and transplant recipient has undoubtedly reaffirmed my desire to not only be a physician but become a pediatrician,” said Dr. Reyes. “A stranger made the ultimate sacrifice and lives on through me. I was given the gift of life. A gift I do not take for granted.”

At the time of her illness, she said El Paso didn’t have a pediatric nephrologist.

The lack of an El Paso pediatric kidney specialist “affected my care and had a profound effect on me,” said Dr. Reyes, who had to travel out of town for her transplant.

With a clean bill of health, Dr. Reyes plunged into her education journey. She earned a B.S. in biology with a biomedical concentration at the University of Texas at El Paso in 2016.

While volunteering in medical clinics as an undergrad, she met a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine who inspired her to become a D.O. She graduated from the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine in May 2023 and matched to the Texas Tech Health El Paso pediatric residency program.

Dr. Reyes aims to specialize in pediatric nephrology and eventually practice in her hometown of El Paso. She looks forward to a future where Borderplex children with kidney diseases can receive specialized care here, without traveling long distances.

“Coming full circle years later as a physician, I want to give back to my community which has given me so much,” Dr. Reyes said. “I can empathize with our young patients and will let them know they’re not alone.”

C. Annette Reyes, D.O.