Chuck Bowman, 53, of Hutchinson, Kan., started dialysis in 2000. The former construction company manager was forced to go on disability when his kidney disease progressed to the point where he lost much of his eyesight and mobility.

Chuck says his feelings of self-worth took a nose-dive, and he grew depressed.

When you cant work anymore, you just feel useless. Many of us measure ourselves by the work we do,Chuck says. When you dont work, that measure is zero.

Chuck says after a few months of going to dialysis and listening to other frustrated and depressed patients, he made up his mind that he was going to work, no matter that he was blind in one eye and only had limited sight in his other eye.

I looked for a job, and couldnt find anything suited to what I could do, physically, Chuck says. So I looked into going back to school to get training for a new line of work. I had used computers in the past and I can see an illuminated computer screen. I focused on studying Web site design. I lose feeling in my hand but Web technology uses point-and-click movements I can do.

Chuck applied for a laptop computer from the state of Kansas so he could do his homework during dialysis. He is now working toward finishing his associates degree and going to a four-year college to pursue teaching Web technologies.

Things are never as bad as you think they are. I felt as though I still had a lot to contribute, Chuck says. My family supports my decision to pursue teaching because they told me thats what I needed to be doing. In one way or another, I was always teaching.