Exclusive: Cathedral City teen gets life-saving heart transplant

Nick Chaney is on the road to recovery after recently receiving an emergency heart transplant that saved his life.

Back in April, the 17-year-old Cathedral City High School graduate came home from a school trip to San Francisco complaining that he could not breathe and that he could feel his heartbeat. He was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Nick's family found out that his condition was due to a genetic mutation. After he started to complain about stomach pains, his mother, Amy Chaney, who is a teacher at Julius Corsini Elementary School, took him back to Loma Linda Hospital.

They were told his heart was progressively getting worse and was hospitalized. He had a temporary heart pump to help offload his heart as well as several other medications. Nick ended up getting moved to the top of the heart transplant list and had the transplant just a few days ago. He remains hospitalized and doctors have said they expect to release him in a few days.

We sit down with Nick's mother and speak to Nick himself about the impact these unexpected and life-changing series of events have had on their family.

If you would like to donate to help Nick's recovery process and related medical expenses that will go well-beyond the window of Nick's hospital release, you can find a link to do so here.

Watch News Channel 3 at 6:00 p.m. tonight for the full story.