Nick Bassett's final days: A visit from Iowa State coach Matt Campbell and one last vow fulfilled
DES MOINES — Death was near last Thursday as staff wheeled Nick Bassett in his hospital bed through the corridors of Iowa Methodist Medical Center for the honor walk, a ceremonial tribute by staff and loved ones as a patient is transported before organ donation.
Along the way, a representative from the Iowa Donor Network grabbed a phone and began playing the Iowa State University fight song, "ISU Fights." As the group made its way to an elevator and navigated through more hallways, Bassett’s mother, Ann, father, Vick, and sister, Heather, began humming to the familiar melody.
“They played it three times through,” Ann Bassett told the Des Moines Register.
It was a fitting farewell for Nick Bassett, a 29-year-old lifelong Iowa State fan who had battled serious health issues since he was 2. Bassett's story of perseverance made him a beloved figure among Iowa State and college football fans.
Last summer, Bassett's legs were amputated, and he made national news after he made good on a personal vow to return to Jack Trice Stadium for the first game of the football season. It was a return that inspired fans nationally. So it seemed only fitting that Bassett's final act was once again to give back to others and offer inspiration.
Bassett died that evening, not long after the honor walk. A celebration of his life took take place Thursday at the Sukup End Zone Club on the south side of Jack Trice Stadium. His friends and family believe it's important to make sure the lessons in life that he embodied live on.
"We know Nick's at peace and he's helping people," Ann Bassett said. "We're good."
Nick Bassett becomes a friend to ISU coach Matt Campbell and an inspiration fans
Nick was diagnosed with scoliosis when he was a toddler. Doctors then discovered a spinal cord tumor, and by high school, Bassett was in a wheelchair.
Through it all, his love for Iowa State remained a constant.
Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell was one of the many people touched by Bassett's life. Campbell first noticed Bassett during the team's pregame walk from the bus to the locker room, which is known as the "spirit walk."
Bassett's family had season tickets in Section 3 at Jack Trice Stadium, and he was routinely at the spirit walk, waiting to greet the Cyclones. After spotting him, Campbell went out of his way to stop and visit with him. In May of last year, the friendship deepened.
Before his surgery to have both legs amputated, Bassett took to Twitter and emphatically wrote that he planned to be back in the stands cheering on the Cyclones that season.
Campbell found out about the tweet and called Bassett the night before his surgery.
The two stayed in touch. Campbell visited Bassett while he rehabbed from the surgery over the summer. The Cyclones coach gave Bassett a specially made Iowa State jersey and signed a helmet for him. It became one of his most prized possessions.
Campbell also invited Bassett and his family to a practice before the season started. When the season got underway, Campbell brought Bassett back again, this time to share his story with the team following a practice in Ames.
That first interaction on the spirit walk led "to a great friendship," Campbell said.
Bassett became a prominent figure for the fan base and garnered national attention.
Campbell continued to get updates on Bassett's health and progress. Last month, Bassett need another surgery on his right leg to close a sore that had exposed the bone. Bassett suffered complications, and his health declined.
It got so bad that Campbell, who was looped in on the direness of Bassett's situation, left a recruiting visit early Jan. 26 to be with Bassett and his family. It would be his final full day alive.
Campbell visited with Ann, Vick, Heather and Nick. They gathered in Nick's room for about 45 minutes. They talked. They told stories. Campbell asked about the organ donor process, which Nick had wanted to be part of and had put on his driver's license.
Campbell asked how he could help with possible funeral arrangements at the stadium's end zone complex. But most importantly, he provided sorely needed support.
"It was just really important from my end to be physically present with Nick and his mom and dad and sister," Campbell said. "They mean a great deal to myself and our family, and I know they mean a great deal to Iowa State. It meant the world to me to be able to be with Nick and, certainly, to be with his family."
After a life of helping others, a final gift
In 2020, Bassett saw how important organ donation was when a friend of his, Suzie Moorman, a 16-year-old from Corydon, died. The two had met through Dance Marathon at Iowa State.
At the time, Bassett heard about how she had been an organ donor. Ann Bassett said her son believed Moorman's legacy lived on through other people.
"Nick's like, 'Mom, that is amazing,' " she recalled.
So he made it a goal to do the same someday. When his condition worsened last month, his parents began making arrangements to make sure his wishes were honored.
One request was to have the Iowa State fight song played as he and his family made the honor walk.
His family made sure those last minutes together were perfect. The four took one final family photo. Then Ann, Vick and Heather stood by him and kissed his forehead. Heather held his hand as the life left his weakened body.
"It was very peaceful," Ann said.
News of Bassett's death set off a long list of tributes. Former Iowa State athletes honored him with posts on Twitter. Cyclones men's basketball player George Conditt dedicated a dunk to Bassett.
Just as he wished, his organs now are helping others. His kidneys were recovered for transplants, according to Heather Butterfield, the director of strategic communications for the Iowa Donor Network. Meanwhile, his lungs will go toward cystic fibrosis research.
"Because of his gifts," Butterfield said, "a life is going to be saved."
His donation comes at a time when 90,000 people are on the transplant list waiting for a kidney, Butterfield said. The commitment by Ann, Vick and Heather to share the story of Bassett's determination to be a donor may help whittle the list, she said.
"His family making the decision to share the story that he was a donor, that could then inspire more people to say 'yes' (to) donation to register, and then to somebody, when their time comes, to give the gift of life," Butterfield said.
His mother hopes Bassett is remembered not only for his fandom for Iowa State but also for his passion to give — even in his final moments. That's how Campbell said he'll remember him and will make sure others do, too, by ensuring his legacy lives on with the football program.
"Every memory that I have of Nick is just this personality of courage and this personality of hope that I think he just gave off every time I was around him or with him," Campbell said.
In fact, there's a movement to rename Iowa State's spirit walk after Bassett.
"He was loyal, forever true," his sister, Heather, said, quoting the ISU fight song. "It didn't matter if they lost. It didn't matter if they won. He was a fan."
Follow Tommy Birch on Twitter @TommyBirch.