'My lungs are the most beautiful gift imaginable'

A vibrant Nico van der Meij from Leiden tells students at schools how he was doing in 2014. He also shows clips of film from that time. The students can't believe their eyes. Is this the same man? Yes, this is the man who lived in the hospital for a year and said goodbye to his friend Michel five times. At the end of 2014, the miracle happened: he received donor lungs.

'Since the beginning of 2015, I can do everything again. Exercise, cycle, go on vacation. I have cystic fibrosis and was almost dead at the end of 2014. Now I can tell everyone about my new lungs, the most beautiful gift I have ever received. I tell what happened to me as a guest speaker at schools because I think it is important that students know what organ donation can mean. During my story, they are deathly silent, and afterwards, they ask all kinds of questions.'

'I only weighed 43 kilos'

'Until I was 27, I didn't suffer much from my illness. But after a lung infection in 2006, I ended up in the hospital. A long series of admissions followed. A few years later, I was declared unfit for work. I found that terrible, but it wasn't possible anymore. Eating also went poorly. At my lowest point, I weighed only 43 kilos. You don't survive a lung transplant with that, and it was necessary. I had to gain 18 kilos for the screening to get on the waiting list. I received artificial nutrition via a feeding tube.'

'I wanted that screening so badly that I persevered'

'I slept a lot and every movement left me short of breath. I had to be on oxygen. I did gain weight, but when you are pumped full of food like that, you get nauseous. Because I wanted that screening so badly, I persevered. I got infections again and ended up in the hospital, but now permanently, waiting for the screening. After a while, the hospital became my home; the people who worked there became my friends.'

'In April 2014, I was still too light for the screening, but my lung function was only 16% and the doctor didn't want to wait any longer. After an emergency screening, I was placed on the waiting list with urgency. Then the waiting began, for months. I was hugely focused on my phone, but nothing happened.'

'I was too sick for a transplant'

'Because of the coughing, I broke a rib. And I deteriorated even further. I was too sick for a lung transplant, so I had to be taken off the waiting list. Eventually, I managed to be connected to an artificial lung, and after that, I was placed on the European waiting list with urgency. During that period, I survived blood poisoning and 2 lung hemorrhages. I said goodbye to my friend Michel 5 times. Until donor lungs arrived.'

'Just before the transplant, I reflected deeply on the donor and their family. While waiting, I had already realized that others would be experiencing something different at that moment. That is difficult. By the way, I didn't say goodbye before the transplant. I said: see you later. And in 6 hours, the operation was done.'

'After a week and a half, I started walking again'

'A day later, I was breathing independently. The machine was already off, but I didn't know that. I lay in bed with a huge smile. And I recovered lightning-fast. A week and a half later, I was already walking. I thought: what did they put in my IV this time? I could also shower by myself. Previously, that would leave me extremely short of breath, but that was part of my old lungs.'

'After five weeks, I was allowed to go home. I could go up the stairs without shortness of breath. A few months later, I was playing soccer with my nephews on the beach. Unbelievable! My freedom kept growing. We were able to go on vacation to Spain, and I dove straight through the waves into the sea.'

'After the trip, we dared to trust that things were going well'

'I had a lot to catch up on. Meeting people, enjoying life. And my relationship with Michel became equal again. He had previously been forced into a caregiving role. It was also always a question of how much time we had left together. After the transplant, he still worried often because I was so overactive. The turning point was a trip to Indonesia. When that went without problems, Michel dared to trust that things were going well.'

'It's a pity that I cannot thank the donor myself'

‘My lungs are the most beautiful gift I could have possibly received. It’s actually a pity that I cannot thank the donor myself. I know nothing about that person, and that’s not necessary, because my gratitude is no less for it. Now I enjoy telling young people what the donor has brought about for me.’

‘On my ‘second birthday’, the day of the transplant, I lay a white rose for the donor at the Donor Monument in Naarden. Afterwards, I celebrate with loved ones that I am still alive. Many people do not make the choice to donate their organs or tissues; this person did. Without him or her, I would no longer be here.’