Nick Hines, 46, of Minnesota, USA, has made Ireland his home for the past 21 years. The Cronusley-based secondary school teacher has built his life with Irish wife Tracy Martin, who grew up in Tullamour, and his two adult sons Caleb (26) and Gus (21), and his daughter Molly, who turned 15 this summer.
From the outside, Nick looked like a typical energetic dad and teacher. I played basketball with the boys and rode my daughter's horses. But what many didn't know was that he had lived for years in a serious heart condition.
Leading to the life-saving transplant in January 2024, he explained: “I went to bed thinking that I might not wake up every night. I never said it out loud, but it was always behind my heart. Nick felt sick in November 2019. It started as cold and lasted until January 2020. He suddenly started to return to himself in February just before the pandemic. He lost movement on one side and couldn't speak for a while. Luckily, the blood clots quickly cleared. However, due to a stroke, the doctor revealed a much more serious problem. Nick's heart had severe myocarditis and extensive scars. Then, just before the implant, the diagnosis was confirmed: sarcoidosis – it was thought to have been going back to 2011.
From there, everything changed. Nick was equipped with a defibrillator, saving his life in 2021 during a sudden cardiac arrest. Still, he taught as usual and lived as he could, while he knew that his heart could always give.
Things took a sharp turn in September 2023. Nick was taking the bottle down the road and couldn't breathe. He collapsed into the house. That same day he was admitted to Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore. They asked him if he had ever had him talk to someone about the transplant. He was referred to a mother's hospital in the beginning of December 2023 for a series of tests over several days. However, when he arrived at the hospital, he was told that even though he felt he had explained it, he didn't bother to leave and had to stay there during Christmas.
“They said: 'You haven't left. You're going to wait for your heart here.' I remember thinking – this is really happening. ” There were concerns that he was not in a position to receive the heart. At one point it was so close, Nick said: “If the next series of tests rule me out in the listing, I'd like to go home and spend my last day with my family.” “Then I got a call in early 2024. A match was found. Nick received his transplant – the donor's heart.
Recovery was difficult, with two weeks in initial rejection and ICU, but he made steady progress and within two months he was discharged from the hospital and home with his family. Over the next few months, he returned to cooking, gardening, walking and sports.
“I went on a trip to Galway with my family and there was a lot of walks. We didn't think of a place where I could stop, so we couldn't eat, we realized that we were doing something very simple, laughing, chatting. We're thinking about my donor and their family, not waking up.” Ever since Nick heard he needed a heart transplant, he says that almost everyone he knows, including friends, family, colleagues and even some students, have a donor card or have code 115 on his driver's license and discussing his hopes with his family and loved ones.
“When someone near you needs a port, it suddenly becomes reality. It ripples over to everyone.” Back in school, Nick is doing what he loves – teaching, living. And he shares his story of organ donor awareness week 2025. Because he states that, “My donors didn't save my life, they improved my life.”
How to demonstrate organ donation support
• Request an organ donor card from the Irish Kidney Association website www.ika.ie/donorweek/
• Check the box for organ donation when applying or renewing a driver's license represented by code 115
• Follow the activities of the Irish Kidney Association on social media, view support and share your message on your network: x @irishkidneys instagram @irishkidneyya, facebook @irishkidneyassociation, linkedin irishkidneyassociation
