When John Thornton, 72, of Shenandoah, learned his kidneys were failing four and a half years ago, he faced a future filled with uncertainty.
"We weren't sure why they were failing. The doctors thought it might be because of the medication I was taking for a heart condition. But they're not sure," Thornton said Thursday.
He survives via a home dialysis method that uses tissues in his abdominal cavity as a filter. It's called peritoneal dialysis.
He braves the challenge with support from his wife, JoAnne, and the specialists at Fresenius Medical Care Dialysis Services of Pottsville Inc. at 278 Industrial Park Road, East Norwegian Township. They include Carla Pothering, a registered nurse who specialized in treating people who do their dialysis at home.
"They're terrific. I have no problems. They gave me good instructions on what to do. And if you follow their instructions, it seems everything works out all right," John Thornton said.
"If you need them, you can call them anytime," JoAnne Thornton said.
"JoAnne and I are a team," Pothering said.
"She is a wonderful person to work with. Wonderful. There's a good feeling between us. We can discuss things without holding back. We can give our opinions," JoAnne Thornton said of Pothering.
Earlier this year, the center was honored by Fresenius Medical Care with a "Center of Excellence Award" for "exceeding FMS Peritoneal Dialysis Quality Criteria," according to a framed certificate at the center.
It's based on meeting high quality targets associated with patient care, like anemia management, adequate dialysis and nutritional status, Pothering said.
"I've been here 17 years, and this is the first time we've received an honor like that," Pothering said Thursday.
This is the first time the clinic has received the award because it just became eligible for it in 2012. Clinics must have more than 10 patients to be eligible, a Fresenius representative said last week.
"Today, we have 17 home dialysis patients who are between the ages of 26 and 83," Pothering said.
The home dialysis team at the center includes: Pothering; Renee McGeoy, a registered nurse; two nephrologists, Dr. Syed G. Shah and Dr. Yashoda D. Rao; Nancy Speidel, a social worker; Debbie Kramer, a clinical manager; and Amy Kraemer, a registered dietician.
On Thursday, Pothering and McGeoy talked about their approach to treating kidney disease patients on peritoneal dialysis.
Born in Pottsville, Pothering, 49, of Schuylkill Haven, is a 1982 graduate of Pottsville Area High School. She earned her nursing degree from Alvernia University, Reading, in 1996.
"I've been in this field for 17 years. And I find it fascinating still after all these years. There's always something to learn and it's enjoyable. You get to know your patients very well," Pothering said.
Born in Reading, McGeoy, 35, of Port Carbon, is a 1996 graduate of Pottsville Area High School. She earned her nursing degree from Lehigh Carbon Community College in 2007.
She was a unit manager at ManorCare Health Services, a nursing and medical care facility in Pottsville, when Pothering paid a visit to teach the staff how to care for peritoneal dialysis patients.
"That was a few years ago. Maybe three or four years," Pothering said.
"So Carla trained me to do peritoneal dialysis. I liked working with it. And I'm here two years and I've been working in peritoneal dialysis one year," McGeoy said.
Eventually, McGeoy decided to pursue a career in dialysis treatment.
Nurses are expected to have a good bedside manner, the ability to put a patient at ease while treating them.
McGeoy said when treating kidney disease patients, nurses have to have a concept of how those patients feel.
"It's a lot to cope with when you're told you have to be on dialysis. People are used to living a certain lifestyle and if it happens, they're thrown into another one," McGeoy said.
"Their lives can become tricky," Pothering said.
"And there's a lot to learn in the beginning, but we break it down into simple tasks and we work to educate, educate, educate. We're always training our patients and talking about different things. You have to be compassionate," McGeoy said.
"That skill evolves within you as you work here," Pothering said.
"We become like their family members," Shah said.
McGeoy said she wasn't sure it was a skill you could learn in school: "In school it's a lot of text book. Out here, it's a lot of real-life situations and you're always learning something different. Dr. Shah may have an approach that's different than Dr. Rao, for example," McGeoy said.
"But we treat every patient individually because every patient's situation is unique to their own personal history, values and how they're receptive to education. So we really tailor our education to the individual patient," Pothering said.