'I can't help him again.' Charlotte man loses recently transplanted kidney in crash

A Charlotte man thought his health was turning around after he received a kidney from his wife. But he lost the organ in a car accident on the way home from the hospital.

Throughout the 2000s, Nick Deal worked on pit crews for several major NASCAR drivers.

"That's all I got to think about nowadays is the old days," said Deal.

Two years ago, Deal was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. His high school sweetheart, Donna Deal, said she couldn't stand by and watch her husband, who always lived life to the fullest, struggle through the symptoms. So she got tested to be a living donor – and turns out she was the perfect match.

"We were so excited," she said.

"It's just a burden lifted off my shoulders," said Nick Deal. "Now, I was going to get to live."

The two were whisked into surgery on Feb. 9, and Nick Deal said he took to his wife's kidney immediately.

"My hands didn't hurt; my feet didn't hurt. I had a little bit of energy again. It felt like a whole new body," he said.

It was the start of a new beginning. Donna Deal was discharged after just a couple of days and Nick Deal was set to meet her at home on Valentine's Day.

"I got up that morning. I was kidding around with all the nurses [asking] — what did your sweetheart give you for Valentine's Day? I told them mine gave me a kidney. I could live again," said Nick Deal.

Nick Deal's niece was driving him home when another driver hit the car's side, Donna Deal said, and an armored truck slammed into them from behind.

"My niece called me hysterically saying they had been in an accident on the interstate," said Donna Deal.

Nick Deal was airlifted to Atrium Health in Charlotte where two teams of surgeons were waiting to try and save his new organ. Donna Deal said the hours that followed were some of the toughest of her life.

"Knowing that when he woke up, it would probably be me telling him that the kidney didn't make it. You know, there's nothing else they could do. Now, I have one kidney and can't help him again," she said.

Nick Deal is back home recovering with only one kidney. But, that kidney is only functioning at 8 percent, he said.

His only hope now is for another living donor.

Donna Deal said she's choosing to believe that the right person will hear their story and help her husband.

"We have a lot of people praying for us, and I do believe in miracles," she said.

She adds a living kidney donor has to be at least 25 years old and in good health. Those interested can contact the Living Donor Program at Carolinas Medical Center.