His original two shriveled up after failing 10 years ago. They were supplemented with a cadaver kidney that carried the load.
That lasted about eight years before his replacement kidney began to fail.
Nick, a former letter carrier who once hauled 30 pounds of mail six miles a day, was in end stage renal disease. His body was breaking down.
The kidneys are sophisticated reprocessing machines, sifting waste products and extra water from the blood. For the second time in his life, Nick's machine had failed.
Four months ago, doctors told him he'd have to go on dialysis. That meant four-and-a -half hours of treatment three times a week.
His friend Tom Marshall, 52, an accountant from Stroudsburg, had offered Nick, also of Stroudsburg, his kidney 10 years ago when Nick's first began to fail.
"He did it in the past and I thought he was kidding me," Nick said.
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