WATERLOO - Before taking his blood pressure, registered nurse Dee Bruns waits for Ron Kittrell to catch his breath after a trip to the bathroom.

"130 over 70. Very good," said Bruns, who works for the Visiting Nurses Association. "Now lean forward, take big deep breaths."

Kittrell complies and coughs after the first big breath.

Kittrell, 74, suffers from emphysema, which killed his twin brother and sister. Doctors removed his bladder and prostate, so a nurse empties his urostomy bag attached to his hip every day.

Despite his health problems, Kittrell considers himself a lucky man because he can live at home, thanks in large part to the efforts of Bruns. Without her, he knows he would be living at the veteran's home in Marshalltown, like his brother did.

This year the Waterloo Visiting Nurses Association celebrates 75 years of improving the lives of people like Kittrell. The nurses association helps patients of all income levels, young and old, stay at home, rehabilitate and die comfortably.

"My biggest problem in life is walking. If I can sit, I'm OK," Kittrell says, taking a seat. "I'm good at relaxing."

His daughter lives three blocks away, his physician gives him a ride to church on Sundays and he takes his motorized scooter next door to the College Square Mall if he wants to get out of the house. He has even known Bruns since she was a girl growing up in his neighborhood.

The Visiting Nurses Association also helps improve lives of those who, without the help of its nurses, would have to care for the sick and frail by themselves.

A VNA nurse visited the home of Maxine Tinsdale for six months last year, where Tinsdale cares for her 82-year-old mother, Lula Harrington, who is in the first stages of Alzheimer's disease.

After Tinsdale's mother was taken off Medicaid last year, VNA stepped in to provide relief. A nurse gave her Harrington a bath in the mornings and provided some respite care, which allowed Tinsdale to run errands or go out with friends.

"I called it my sanity time," she said.

VNA's services can also be a life saver. Kittrell says he owes Bruns - who has twice found him unconscious - his life.

"Twice? It's been more than that!" Bruns says.

Kittrell keeps the urns of his brother and sister under a table in his apartment. When his time arrives, he plans to be cremated, his remains joining his sister's and brother's in one urn.

"The three of us were very, very close throughout our lives. I know they're playing cards up (in heaven) and have a chair waiting for old Ron."

But neither Kittrell or Bruns plan on him going anywhere soon. Bruns says he's too stubborn to die just yet. Kittrell says he has big plans for his 75th birthday this year.

"I'm going to have ice cream and cake for everybody in the building. Seventy-five is a pretty big deal - not everyone makes it that long."

Contact Jens Manuel Krogstad at (319) 291-1580 or jens.krogstad@wcfcourier.com.