ALAN NICKERSON, 47, admits he was a challenging patient when he first came to Renal Care Group’s Mount Airy, Pa., facility in April 2003. In fact, nurses frequently wrote "noncompliant" on his chart.

No more. Once almost a dead man walking, Alan has come a long way toward better health since doctors first diagnosed his end-stage kidney disease.Today he’s positive, purposeful and, literally, pumped up.

Dark Days

Two years ago,  Alan’s kidneys deteriorated quickly after he stopped controlling his blood pressure. "I lost my health insurance and I was just sitting home waiting to die, but my family convinced me to go to the hospital."

Hospitalized for 12 days, Alan’s body was in bad shape. "I couldn’t walk, breathe or sleep. I felt like I was probably only a day or so away from dying."

Doctors finally got his disease under control and Alan started dialysis. Still, he felt so weak and sick that he found it difficult just to make it to his treatments.

"My body was like a 90-year-old man. I had fluid in my belly, and my arms and legs were all shrunk up like a bird. I would go in there wiped out."

Tough Love

Despite his complaints, his Mount Airy caregivers got tough with Alan. His nurses urged him to control his fluids better, while his dietitian encouraged him to take better care with his diet.

"They kept telling me, ‘Don’t eat this or that.’ I thought, ‘No one can tell me what I can eat.’ That’s when I stopped taking care of myself."

Alan’s health deteriorated further and he almost died within a few weeks when his heart stopped and he went into a coma.

"It took me a long time to realize that all of the reminders and pestering weren’t personal. Then I could appreciate what the nurses were trying to tell me," he says.

And according to Facility Manager Eileen Lynch, that realization was when "Alan really came around."

‘All at Once, It Clicked.’

Once Alan got his fluid and diet under control, his caregivers urged him to try Mount Airy’s self-care unit.

"When they asked me to go downstairs, I didn’t think I could do it. I said, ‘I’ll give it a try, but if it doesn’t work, I want permission to come back upstairs.’"

It took a few weeks, but eventually Alan learned how to set up and monitor his machines. "All at once, it clicked.The nurses were so encouraging. They told me, ‘Alan, I am so proud of you.’"

After all the ups and downs with his own health, Alan can pinpoint a frightened or noncompliant patient quickly. "Someone who has been where I’ve been can see pain and suffering. I tell them they can get through this. I tell them, ‘Have faith in the staff and do what they tell you to do. You will get better.’"

Ready for Heavy Lifting

A positive attitude has put Alan on the road to recovery, and a renewed commitment to exercise has built more than just larger muscles. From the first day he set foot in the gym six months ago, Alan started to feel healthier.

"At first I didn’t think I could live through it. I could only do 20 seconds on the bike; now I can do 45 minutes. I used to only be able to lift 10 pounds on the bar; now I can lift 225 pounds. The gym guy says I’m an inspiration."

Alan is now considering a two-year nursing program. He says he feels called to work in the medical field because of all the help he received at his Renal Care Group facility.

"It’s important to remember all they have done for me. It’s amazing to me that I’m still here."