Nicole - double-lung recipient and donor, VIC

Nine hours after being brought into this world, Nicole underwent her first major surgery. Only 3 months later, she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening condition that damages the lungs and digestive system. 

Over the years Nicole endured countless medical procedures, medications, and hospital admissions – sometimes for weeks at a time. But throughout all of her difficult health challenges, Nicole remained positive and was determined to experience a life filled with joy.

Nicole’s mother Yvonne says, “She took on challenges we didn’t think she would take on, and she never complained about her life with cystic fibrosis.”

When her lungs deteriorated significantly in her 30s, Nicole was placed on the waitlist for a lung transplant. Her incredible gift came 11 months later, thanks to the generosity of a donor and the donor’s family. 

Nicole loved her new life, with Yvonne saying that she worked hard to keep fit and do everything she was supposed to do. Nicole appreciated her new lungs so much and wanted to honour her donor and their family for the gift that saved her life. 

After 8 years, unfortunately Nicole’s lungs started to fail and she returned to the waitlist again.

Incredibly, Nicole received a another gift and underwent a second double-lung transplant. Her “perfect” lungs, as Yvonne describes them, gave Nicole another 2 very happy years, before she was tragically diagnosed with liver cancer and very sadly passed away within a short time.   

“Nicole was amazing, courageous, and a very strong person. She thought about others more than herself,” says Yvonne. 

Unsurprisingly, Nicole had made it clear to her parents that she wanted to be an organ and tissue donor. Organ donation had given her many extra years of life, and she wanted to be able to do the same for others.

After her passing, Nicole was able to donate her corneas, giving sight to 2 people. Her parents Yvonne and Bruce take comfort knowing that Nicole’s gift of cornea donation has helped others. 

“Donation meant that we had Nicole for another 10 years,” says Yvonne. Nicole’s gift to 2 people means they now have more time to enjoy all that new sight can bring.