Didja Nawolsky has been fighting for her life for quite some time now and has beat her way through a major infection, triple bypass surgery, and a heart attack.

Nawolsky learned she was suffering from an autoimmune disease in 2002 and a year later, her kidneys completed failed.

"I had very little knowledge about kidneys and the idea of being stuck to a dialysis machine for the rest of my life or having to deal with transplants was absolutely horrifying," she says.

She tried getting a transplant from her sister, but it was soon discovered that the kidney was too good of a match – her body rejected it because it thought it was her own.

Didja was determined that she would not let that devastating blow get her down. "If I don't make the best of what I have, whether that's dialysis, I'm gonna lose the joy that I have in my life now, like. I've gotta get out there and make the most of it."

Now, she is on the road, speaking to others about her experience and how she chooses to be happy.

Jill Goth of the Kidney Foundation says Nawolsky is a person who is able to re-frame every negative thing. "Every barrier she's faced she changes into an encouragement."

Didja doesn't let anything slow her down or cut down on any time with her family.

Their holiday trailer has even been fitted with a portable dialysis machine.

"Rather than focusing on the negative and the things that we've lost, that she's lost, she focuses on the positive and always looks for the upside and the joy in the future," says her husband Jeff Nowalsky.

For the way she fought back and now uses her experiences to encourage others, Didja Nawolsky is this week's Inspiring Albertan.