“Have that conversation before it’s too late”: Nick’s story

22-28 September is Organ Donation Week. Sewell Group’s own SEC Manager Nick Atkin wants to tell you the story of how he benefitted from someone giving him the gift of life, and ask you to do one simple thing today which could be the difference between life and death.

Nick’s story

“When I tell people my heart is ten years younger than me, they look confused. But it’s true – four years ago, I had a heart transplant, and it’s transformed my life.

My story starts in 2007, when I was in my late thirties. I was fit and well, played lots of sports, but one day I got a bad cold. I didn’t think much of it, but over the next couple of years I never really got over it. I was feeling unwell, and had a swollen leg, but I just carried on.

Then one day, I was at work and our HR manager told me I should go and see the doctor, as I just didn’t look right. I told my colleagues I’d be back in a couple of hours and headed to the GP. That was the start of my journey to a new heart.

The GP wasn’t sure what was wrong with me, but fearing I might have a blood clot in my leg, he sent me straight to hospital. A few scans later, and I was told that not only did I have a faulty heart valve, but I also had dilated cardiomyopathy – basically, a thickening of the walls of the heart. My heart was struggling to pump blood around my body.

The next few years were a blur of operations and being in and out of hospital. I had a mechanical heart valve fitted, and an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICB) – basically a tiny device that would shock my heart if it went into a dangerous rhythm. That ICD brought me ‘back to life’ over 50 times over the next few years. Eventually, my condition became so serious that I was moved to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, the specialist cardiac centre for Northern England.

I’d been in the hospital a couple of weeks, and the doctors came by on their rounds. The consultant was asking me what it felt like when the ICD went off. I was trying to explain, when my heart went into a dangerous rhythm, and it suddenly activated. Next thing I know, I was waking up with a junior doctor jumping around performing CPR on me. Exciting for him, but not a nice thing for me to wake up to, to say the least. The consultant told me that was it – I wasn’t leaving the hospital until I had a new heart.

The transplant team sprang into action. A lovely lady from the transplant co-ordination team came to see me, and said she was going to put me onto the ‘urgent’ list. She explained it would still take time, and things probably wouldn’t happen immediately, but at least I’d be bumped up the list. I went to bed thinking I was probably in for a long wait.

Yet next morning, I was woken at 3am to be told they may have found me a new heart. I knew that it wasn’t guaranteed – there are a lot of false starts with transplants. The heart might not be suitable, or it could be damaged, or may not be a match. So I just went back to sleep! But behind the scenes, while I slept the transplant team were swinging into action. By the end of the day, after a five-hour operation, I had a new heart. It was 21 March 2021.

I spent the next two weeks in an induced coma in intensive care, before being moved into the high dependency unit, then into a normal ward. After a lengthy, painful recovery, I managed to go home just before Christmas 2021, nine months after the transplant.

While in the hospital, there were many ‘ups & downs’ with my recovery and many false starts with being released home. I used to often pass the children’s transplant ward, and it made me think about the children on that ward awaiting organs to be donated and how hard it must be for their families, I would ‘give my head a shake’ and realise just how lucky I had been to have had a full and healthy life up to now and to have the gift of a new heart.

Since then, I’ve been back home, with my family, who have lived the journey with me and have been an incredible support. I’m able to resume a normal life, and even go back to work. Life’s back to normal, life’s good.

All I know about my donor is that it was a man, who was ten years younger than me. If it wasn’t for his family allowing his organs to be donated, I wouldn’t be here now. My family have written letters to his family, to express our gratitude, but we’ll never be able to thank his family in person for the difficult decision they made that day that saved my life.

That’s what I want you to take away from my story. If you are happy for your organs to be donated, I want you to go home tonight and tell your family of your decision. Have the conversation now, with your family and friends, before it’s too late. Because one day, at a time of great stress and grief for them, they might need to have a difficult conversation with the transplant team, and you want to make it easier for them to know what your wishes would be.

Go home and have that conversation now with your loved ones before it’s too late. Because that simple chat could save lives.”

Right now, there are 8,000 people waiting for an organ transplant in the UK, and last year over 460 people died while waiting for a transplant. If you want to be considered for organ donation should the worst happen, please make sure you register on the organ donation website, and when you go home tonight, have a conversation with your loved ones to tell them of your wishes.

Featured image credit: Anton at Unsplash