Transplant Survivor: She won my heart

30 May 2009He felt weak at the knees and was short of breath, but for heart transplant survivor Craig Sweeney, it was seeing his beautiful bride Nadia Marinkovich walk down the aisle that caused his heart to skip a beat.

"I couldn't stop smiling and I found it pretty hard to breathe, with the realisation our wedding day was finally happening," says Craig, who suffered a mysterious heart condition that lead him to be revived twice on the operating table at just 27 years old.

"It was the best day of my life, but the greatest moment was definitely seeing my angel walk towards me," Craig says.

This devoted duo truly knows the meaning of staying together "in sickness and in health". Just five months after his first meeting with Nadia at a bar in London, the strapping 1.95 metre tall lad was suddenly struck down by a debilitating and unknown heart condition during his OE in 2005.

Craig was spending the weekend in London with Nadia, an intensive care nurse, when he started slurring his words. Realising something was terribly wrong, she immediately took him to hospital where he was diagnosed with heart failure.

It was a rocky start to a romance that saw the once fit and healthy Craig spend the next 11 months in hospital. He spent six weeks of that time under sedation as well as suffering a stroke and enduring more than 40 hours of life-saving surgery.

Nine months after Nadia's hospital dash, Craig had a heart transplant in September of 2005, and throughout his ordeal, Nadia remained by his side.

Wedded bliss

As Nadia walked down the aisle of St Paul's Cathedral in Auckland's Devonport, Dave Dobbyn's Baby I'm Beside Yourang out. The song's poignant lyrics - 'May good fortune smile upon you and my love be your only load' - spoke volumes of the couple's commitment and love.

For Craig's mum Brenda, who was on a plane to London to keep vigil at the hospital within hours of receiving a call from the doctors, seeing her son marry Nadia was "magnificent".

"It's his optimism and strength of character that has pulled him through and also the immense support and care he's received from Nadia," Brenda says. "I'm overjoyed that Craig has found such happiness."

Characteristically calm and collected, Nadia laughs as she admits her enthusiasm to tie the knot got the better of her on her big day with the stunning 29-year-old bucking tradition by arriving at the church early.

"When we got to the church I couldn't wait to walk down the aisle," says Nadia, who works at Auckland Hospital's intensive care unit. "I asked the driver to take my bridesmaids and me to the Devonport Wharf for a few minutes. I just couldn't wait to see Craig. We had a huge sense of happiness as everyone there was happy and healthy."

Almost four years on, the only reminders of Craig's mystery illness are the 25cm scar down the centre of his wire-threaded chest and his aphasia - a side affect from the stroke that at times can impair his speech.

"With his aphasia, Craig was concerned about saying his vows," Nadia says, "But he said them perfectly." Word-for word, they promised: "To laugh with you in joy, to grieve with you in sorrow, to grow with you in love, to live with you in peace, hope and togetherness for the rest of our lives together."

Following the moving ceremony, the couple held their reception at McHugh's restaurant on the North Shore's picturesque Cheltenham Beach. Although Craig couldn't share in a glass of champagne with his beautiful bride - his anti-rejection medication prevents him fron drinking alcohol for the rest of his life - he secretly had prepared a speech for Nadia.

"I wanted to tell Nadia what she means to me" says Craig, who has always credited her for saving his life. "She's been with me every step of the way."

Sports-mad Craig, now 31, still thinks about his near death experience every day, but it's now a positive reminder about how fortunate he was to survive.

"I still find it difficult to stand on the sideline of a rugby match rather than on the pitch," the relief PE teacher and former rugby player admits. "I have to be very careful, but it's not much of a sacrifice compared with the gift of my new heart and the chance to spend my life with Nadia." New Idea (NZ Edition)