Dialysis Patient Uses Treatment Time To Teach

Dialysis Patient Uses Treatment Time To Teach
By Marissa Bodnar

UPDATED: 6:31 pm MDT June 27, 2011

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho -- Having to rely on dialysis for kidney function is life-changing, as it requires dozens of hours each week spent plugged into a machine.
But one Idaho Falls man has found a way to give back with the extra time.
Max Kearse was hooked up to what he calls "a cardboard box" on Monday afternoon.
"Just sit here on your can and wait for the clock to go by," said Kearse.
The box is a dialysis machine. Three days a week, four hours at a time, the retired small-business owner and self-described go-getter has his blood cleansed of toxins; something his body can no longer do on its own since he lost his second kidney to cancer last year.
"I could feel my body changing, because I was John Wayne; I did everything I wanted to do," said Kearse. "Now all of a sudden my body can't do anything."
Instead, Kearse is focused on what he can do.
"If the last three digits can be divided by eight," he said, with a textbook in his hands.
One hour each session, the treatment room at the Idaho Kidney Center in Idaho Falls becomes a classroom for two Hillcrest High School students.
The subject: math. The tutor: Kearse.
"You just start dwelling on 'Oh poor, poor pitiful me,' if you didn't find good things to do," said the former substitute teacher. "So I appreciate being able to contribute to their life."
"He has a talent that he is able to use to help other people," said medical director Michael Hardelie. "He's one of those amazing guys."
But the boys do the same for Kearse. From running timed tests on multiplication tables to talking about feelings toward the sometimes stressful subject, he takes pride in their progress and welcomes the distraction.
"Cause people, a lot of people have bad feelings about math," said Kearse.
From his reclining chair, Kearse is already changing that. He brings a summer curriculum dictated by the student rather than a lesson plan.
"He actually cares," said student Josh Johnson. "He doesn't want to just get through the school year; he wants to actually help you."
Kearse plans to help his students as long as it takes, because if there's one thing he has, it's time.
Hardelie said it's common for dialysis patients to take up new hobbies. One of his patients has started reading Harvard course reviews and books on astrophysics.

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