Trevor Colquhoun was just a week away from death when a heart donor was found for him. He tells Health Editor Barry Nelson about how he was given a second chance.

TREVOR Colquhoun knows he is one of the luckiest men in the world. The 62-year-old from County Durham was only a week away from death when he was told that the heart transplant he needed could take place.

In one of the most ambitious transplants ever carried out at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, surgeons gave Trevor an aortic vessel and heart valve, as well as a new heart.

It was touch-and-go for Trevor and at first, after he remained in a coma for a week, surgeons feared that his slow recovery after the operation meant that he had had a lifethreatening stroke.

But Trevor battled his way back to consciousness and with the help of NHS cardiovascular rehabilitation workers he is now fitter than he has been for many years.

While he revels in the new life he has been given, Trevor feels hugely indebted to the family of the unidentified teenage boy whose heart gave him that gift.

"I have a far better life now than I ever dreamt possible when I was waiting for a new heart, " says Trevor, who lives in Leadgate, near Stanley.

That heart transplant took place just over two years ago. To demonstrate his deep gratitude, on each anniversary of his transplant, Trevor and his wife, Margaret, visit the chapel at the Freeman to remember the donor they call James. Each time they leave a card with the words 'Thank you James for your gift of life'.

Apart from giving his heart, James donated all his other organs, helping to save many other lives.

Trevor now tries his best to promote the message that more people should consider donating their organs after death, or at the very least, discuss the subject with family members.

Apart from spreading the word among friends, family and acquaintances, Trevor also does his bit to boost morale at the Freeman hospital, touring wards filled with heart patients who are waiting for an all-important heart transplant.

Trevor cannot believe what a difference the new heart, aorta and valve has made to his quality of life.

"I was in a real state before the transplant. I was bedridden and incontinent. . . it was really awful."

He thought his time was up until doctors told him that the operation could go ahead. "Compared to the way I was, it is wonderful. I can drive all over the place, I can go for walks, I can shovel snow. It is beyond my wildest dreams when I was lying in that hospital bed."

Trevor was also impressed at the rehabilitation service provided at his local leisure centre by a team of specialist NHS nurses, led by cardiovascular specialist nurse Nancye Carr.

Nancye and her colleagues are part of a network of NHS cardiac rehabilitation nurses in the region who help heart patients get back on their feet and get back into shape.

"We aim to get them fitter than they have been for years. We start as soon as they have been discharged from hospital, we take anyone who has had serious heart problems, from people who have had a heart transplant or coronary artery bypass to people who have treatment for angina or been to a chest pain clinic, " says Nancye, who is based at Shotley Bridge Hospital.

Recovering heart patients are seen in groups of up to 15 at local leisure centres in Consett and Stanley. They are enrolled on an eight week programme which involves a two hour programme twice a week. One hour is devoted to exercise, half an hour is devoted to relaxation and the rest is given over to health education and related discussion.

"It is quite a hard work-out, " says Nancye, who works for the two primary care trusts which cover Durham, Chester-le-Street and Derwentside.

"However, it is pitched to their level of ability and everybody seems to have a good time doing it. There is a terrific buzz at our sessions, lots of laughing and carrying on."

Nancye was particularly impressed with Trevor's attitude to the classes.

"Trevor responded very well, he really got stuck in. He feels he was at death's door and now he has so much to be grateful for."

Getting people back on their feet again is a vital part of rehabilitation, particularly after something as psychologically devastating as a heart attack or transplant.

The crucial message that Nancye and her colleagues try to get across is that by adopting a healthier lifestyle, including healthy eating, increased daily exercise and definitely no smoking, people who have been given another chance can enjoy much better health in the future.

Nancye has helped lots of heart patients recover but Trevor is special.

"He is a lovely man and a real example to other people. He really wants to give something back."