A Bolton health worker celebrated the anniversary of his life-saving heart transplant by winning two gold medals. On July 27, exactly 28 years after undergoing the lifesaving surgery, Rob Hodgkiss won gold in discus and 200m track at the European Transplant Sports Championships. The first place finishes were in addition to four silver medals the 58-year-old achieved earlier in the week in the swimming pool and volleyball.
The British team also topped the medal table and won trophies for the best heart and lung transplant team and best overall team at the 2024 edition of the games held in Lisbon, Portugal. Rob underwent a heart transplant aged 30 at the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, while he was working as a dentist in the city. He suffered a rapid illness due to cardiomyopathy and it was only eight weeks from being admitted to hospital with shortness of breath to being discharged following a lifesaving heart transplant.
Unfortunately, hand tremors that are a side effect of his lifelong immunosuppressant medication prevented the return to a career in dentistry, so Rob returned to university to study physiotherapy. Qualifying in 2003 from University of Salfor d, Rob has enjoyed a 21-year career working for Bolton NHS Foundation Trust and now works as an practice education facilitator, supporting students on placement at the trust. Rob said: “It’s always amazing to take part in transplant sports events, knowing that everyone there is only alive due to the selfless gift of a d.