October 6, 2006

Remembering Nico

Nicholas Susoev brings life, health to others one year after his death

By Carol Rosen
Staff Writer

It was just about a year ago that Margaret Susoev woke her son for school, before hearing a noise and finding her son Nicholas, dead on the floor of his room.

Margaret, Natasha and Nick Susoev take time during their Heart Walk to turn around and smile. Every member of the team completed the 5K walk. Photos by Raymond Gristi

The Susoev family, which has lived in the Evergreen area for the last 18 years, was filled with deep sorrow and grief, as was the community that had encompassed Nico’s life. At least 500 people attended his funeral, many of them standing outside because they could not fit into Oak Hill’s largest chapel.

A year later, the family still suffers from their grief and sadness, but Nico has brought health and joy to at least 17 other families and eventually could help 140 people. That news, in turn, has also helped his mother Margaret, father Nick and sister Natasha in coping with the grief of his death. In addition, the family has found ways to make his death even more meaningful, with heart walks and tissue donations.

After Nico died, doctors asked his parents if they wanted to make him a donor. Without hesitation, both parents agreed to offer his skin, bones, corneas and veins for people suffering from sports injuries, to bone cancer, to spinal surgeries.

“He was such an incredible kid, we have to share his life,” Margaret said. “He was such a generous person, how could we not reciprocate.”

Margaret is now on the board of the Muscular-Skeletal Transplant Foundation. One of the family’s proudest documents is a letter from the foundation noting that Nico’s donations will be able to help up to 140 people. So far, his tissue, skin, corneas and bones have helped 17 people in 10 states—California, Utah, Oklahoma, Texas, North and South Carolina, Mississippi, Missouri, Minnesota and Alabama--ranging in age from 17 to 75.

Heart defect
Nico was born on Aug. 13, 1988 with cardiomyopathy, a heart defect that was diagnosed at birth but didn’t affect Nico until the morning of Oct. 10, 2005.

Nicholas “Nico” Susoev

“When he was born, the doctors didn’t give him a week to live, but he lived for 17 years. We never expected to see him grow up,” said Margaret. “But he lived happily, never spending a day of his life in the hospital, always on the go and doing things.”

Nico saw his doctor a couple of times a year and each time had an echocardiogram. He recently had seen the doctor, and there was no indication that things were getting worse.

“As a parent, it’s always in the back of your mind. I always knew it would happen. The day it did, it came so fast there was nothing we could do. His girlfriend had talked to him at 6:30 that morning and he collapsed at 7:10,” Margaret said.

“He would not have lasted if he’d had to spend time in the hospital,” added Nick. “He was always moving, always doing something and always laughing. It’s funny, but in order to get a heart transplant you have to be sick and nearly dying. He couldn’t have lived like that; he would have hated it. “

Margaret, Nick and Natasha explained that Nico, the nickname, came from Natasha who named Nico as a baby because she couldn’t say Nicholas.

“He was one of those special people,” Natasha said. “He called me at school the weekend before he died. We were just 15 months apart. He was doing work-study at school. He had gotten several job offers and he wanted to discuss them with me. He wasn’t sure which one he wanted to take.”

Even though he couldn’t play organized sports, Nico did play soccer and Little League when he was young and played football with his friends, Margaret said. He especially loved to play paintball with his friends in Santa Cruz.

“He was genuine, he loved being with his friends and he loved people. He was always busy and he always had a smile on his face,” said Margaret.

“Nico’s favorite sport was probably basketball,” added Nick. “He loved basketball and he was a big [Golden State] Warriors’ fan. But most of all, he loved his car and he loved to fix it. We have a lot of pictures of Nico sitting at the wheel of his car.”

Heart Walk
Natasha wanted to find a way to celebrate her brother’s life, and so, this summer, while attending school at UC Santa Barbara, she decided she would do a heart walk for Nico.

“In late July or early August, I started Nico’s team [for the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk],” Natasha said. “Fourteen people joined me on the walk and we all completed the 5K.”

The night before the 5K American Heart Association walk, Natasha Susoev held an appreciation dinner for the team at her apartment. Besides making dinner, Natasha decorated the apartment. One wall showed how much the team had raised up to that date. She also filled the same wall with profiles of teammates as well as encouraging words and statements as to why each had decided to walk for the Heart Association.

Besides Natasha, Nico’s team consisted of parents Margaret and Nick, and Natasha’s 67-year-old grandmother, Josephine Attard. Nick and Josephine are heart surgery survivors. Also helping raise nearly $1,800 for the heart association were Natasha’s aunt and uncle, Mary and Raymond Gristi, her boyfriend, Spencer Johnson, her roommates Ali McComas and Maria Sur, as well as five of her close friends at UCSB.

The night before the walk, Natasha decorated her apartment and cooked a special appreciation dinner for her teammates. She decorated the wall with profiles from each of the walkers, describing, “Why I walk,” and providing dedications to give the team the encouragement and how they have been affected by heart disease.

“I got all kinds of encouragement from Nico’s Evergreen Elementary and Silver Creek High School teachers and friends, from my family, from Applied Materials, from the faculty and staff at UCSB, and even from my landlord,” said Natasha, who raised nearly $1,200 on her own. “The team raised almost $1,800 and was number four or five in fundraising. I was the number two fundraiser.”

The team also won first place in the T-shirt contest, which Margaret modeled for the runners and their friends.
Natasha plans to continue to do the heart walk into the future.

“I hope to have Nico’s team in the heart walk at least for the next three years while I’m at UCSB,” she said. “But it doesn’t really matter where it happens. I know they have one in San Jose, and I may do one here next summer, too. Wherever I go, I’ll find the American Heart Association, even if I’m the only team member.”