He has been in and out of the hospital his entire life. After years of painful nights in hospital beds, waiting for a life-changing liver transplant, 14-year-old Nick Wallace returned to the familiar halls of Mattel Children’s Hospital on Saturday with something to celebrate.
Nick gathered with friends, family and doctors to throw a “birthday” party for the liver he received in a transplant at the hospital a year ago.
The celebration, complete with a birthday cake, was not just about Nick and his new healthy life. It was a chance for the teenager to do something for the children who still frequent hospital beds.
The items in the backpacks were sponsored or subsidized by various companies, said Deborah Atkin, Nick’s mother.
Nick said he got the idea for the backpack after visiting his friend, who was in the hospital because he had cancer.
“I brought him the same stuff as the ones in these backpacks,” Nick said. “I decided why not do this for every other kid in the hospital.”
Nick formed Nick’s Picks on the day of his transplant as a way to give back to the hospital community that supported him through his illness, Atkin said.
A week after he was born, Nick was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a condition that affects the liver’s ability to drain bile, said Ronald Busuttil, Wallace’s doctor and surgeon.
Side effects of the disease made him overly forgetful and wore away at his immune system, making it hard for him to live a normal life, Nick said.
Since his immune system was weak, he was in the hospital often because of liver infections and numerous other viral illnesses, Atkin said.
The persistent confusion and forgetfulness also got in the way of him playing lacrosse, his passion.
“I would be the only one that would progress (and) just end up forgetting everything within a week’s time because I was very forgetful back then,” Nick said.
But Nick said he was determined not to let his disease stop him for doing the things he loved.
“I just kept going by thinking when this is all over and I get my second chance, I’m going to be able to do all this stuff the right way,” Nick said. “If I just work hard enough, I’ll be able to catch up with them.”
Two years ago, then-12-year-old Nick was slated to undergo a liver transplant. However, the liver was given to another patient who needed it more. Without a transplant, he was going to die of liver failure. But Nick finally got his second chance one year later.
“One day in the afternoon, we got the call. Nick was initially very nervous but he decided he was ready,” Atkin said.
The family headed up from San Diego and, 12 hours later, Nick was admitted into the operating room. The surgery was a success, and Nick was able to go back to living a normal life.
“It’s the first year of his life where he hasn’t been to a hospital. It’s a new normal, Atkin said. “Now he’s back to sports and school completely. He’s living a really normal life and for the first time, he’s not in pain.”
Now that he is finally healthy, Nick wants to encourage other pediatric patients not to give up and to continue trying to live the best way they can.