Ignacio and María Hildebrandt were at home in Mexico City when the phone rang early one morning in October 2016. It was a parent’s worst nightmare come true. Their eldest daughter’s homestay company in Nanaimo was calling to say there had been an accident. Their 15-year-old daughter, also named María, was in the hospital.
“We then called the doctor who was in charge that night. He was very honest and professional and explained the range of María’s injuries,” recalls Ignacio, who prefers to be called Nacho. “We realized that María was almost gone.”
María, who had just arrived in Nanaimo two months prior to study English abroad, had stayed after school the previous night to watch a football game. She and another exchange student, also from Mexico, tried to cross the Island Highway and were struck by a car.
Nacho and his wife rushed to get to Vancouver Island as quickly as possible. It took them 24 hours to arrive at María’s bedside.
But María was not alone. In a sad twist of fate, her homestay host father David Torney was a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital at that time. He was on shift that night.
“We had a call that a trauma, pedestrian struck, was coming in. I wasn’t assigned to the case, but as soon as the team realized I was the patient’s homestay father, they called me down,” David remarks. “I was shocked to see María like that.”
David, his family and María (far right in the royal blue hoodie)
David did not leave María’s side. When the medical team made the decision to transfer the teenager to Victoria General Hospital, David called María’s parents to update them. He says he will never forget Nacho’s pleas. "The first thing he said was make sure they can donate her organs, regardless of whether we are there or not. That hit me like a ton of bricks. It was pretty emotional."
The day after María’s parents and sister arrived in Victoria, María underwent final tests to see if there was any chance of meaningful recovery. Doctors determined María was already gone. In that moment, Nacho says confirming their decision to donate his daughter’s organs was crystal clear.
“In our beliefs, María was already in another place, in heaven. What was left there was not María. It was, without any doubt, the clearest thing to do. If you can help other people, that’s what we need to do. It was as simple as that.”
María saved four people’s lives through organ donation.
Nacho and his wife are currently living in their home country of Spain, north of Madrid, and their younger daughter Beatriz is studying at university in Germany. The loss of María will always be with them, but knowing she gave the gift of life to four people has brought them some comfort.
“I don’t know why this happened, but at least we helped some people, and that makes a lot of sense because the rest of it doesn’t make sense,” comments Nacho.
Spain is widely known as the world leader in organ donation. Nacho says a lot of Spaniards just naturally assume organ donation will be part of their or their loved ones’ end-of-life wishes. The country has also traditionally had a large population who self-identifies as Catholic, and Nacho believes that could also contribute to public support for organ donation.
“We believe when you die, your soul leaves your body. The body is nothing more than an organic thing, so you don’t need any of that to live forever in eternity,” explains Nacho. “Your thoughts, memories, all your ideas...they are not in your body, but they belong to your soul, and that lasts forever if we want it to. Even if you have other beliefs, when you die, you don’t need money, clothes, or other material things, and you don’t need your organs. When discussing this, it’s very clear.”
After working in critical care for years, David had witnessed both sides of donation and transplantation and was always deeply moved. But his personal experience with María and her family impacted him even more profoundly. Last year, he went from full-time to part-time critical care nursing and joined BC Transplant part-time as an organ donation coordinator. Now he works with other families like the Hildebrandts, offering them the option to give a precious gift to another family.
“It was life-changing to be with María and her family at the end of her life. It was like losing one of my own and I carry that with me every day,” remarks David. “She was happy, outgoing and a fun-loving girl. She got along so well with our kids. I feel so privileged to have met her, cared for her, and helped her family fulfill their end-of-life wishes for her.”
Nacho remembers his daughter as a very special child, and adds, “She was curious, a consummate reader. She was always worried about others and kind with everybody, especially those who were suffering or having problems.”
Nacho is very proud of María and how she was able to help others when she passed away. He says he feels their souls are connected and often shares his thoughts and dreams with her. When one of María’s recipients sent a letter to them, Nacho was sure it was a sign from María, affirming they made the right decision to donate her organs. Now by sharing her story publicly, he hopes her legacy spreads even further.
“I have a very strong memory of the way María would walk with me and she’d hold my arm in a particular way. She wasn’t very tall, but she would put all her weight on my arm, pulling on me,” reminisces Nacho, his voice breaking with emotion. “When I remember her, I always think of her doing that, and it’s a way to feel María very close to me.”
There are more than 600 British Columbians waiting for a second chance at life. Are you a registered organ donor? Registeryourdecision.ca
