Kirsty, a former early childhood educator, said after having kids she decided to fulfill her dream of being a nurse by going back to school.

"I work in the renal unit at the Port Macquarie Base Hospital and have done for the last three years and most of the people we we see are in end stage kidney disease," Kirsty said.

"Their kidneys have stopped working and they won't get any better, so our patients come in for dialysis three times a week, for four or five hours at a time.

"It is a long time for them to just be sitting with us so you do develop close relationships and we become a close family."

The renal nurse the bonds that develop between patients and nurses are very special for Kirsty.

"For some nurses they might see and treat their patients for a few hours or a day before they go home but for us our patients will never get better," she said.

"Healthy kidneys work 24 hours a day to get rid of toxins building up in the body, but our patients have to have dialysis to get rid of the toxins.

"When they come to us they are usually feeling pretty sick so it is always nice when they leave with a spring in their step.

"We see our patients for long periods of time sometimes for years, so you learn each other's personalities and interests.

"I am an avid reader so we have a mini book club library where we all share books and then during dialysis we can chat about the books and for our patients time does go a little quicker."

Kirsty said she feels lucky to work with 22 staff working across the renal units at Kempsey and Port Macquarie.

"I love being part of a great team of nurses who are all passionate about what they do. In our work there is a lot of ongoing education for our patients about diet and lifestyle choices and we have to have each other's back and back up the advice we give.

"It can be very scary and overwhelming for someone when they get told they need to go on dialysis for the rest of their life but we try to make it a little better.

"Some of our patients are more independent that others, some come in and set themselves up on their own and others might cannulate themselves.

"Our patients know their bodies incredibly well and we work with them so the whole process can be as easy as possible."

Kirsty said she loves what she does and can't see herself doing anything else.

"There aren't many people who can honestly say they love their job but I am certainly one of them. Each day I come to work and love knowing I am making a difference to someone."

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