Nick Heiser, M.D., assistant professor of anesthesiology and 2008 UNMC graduate, remembers that his family was always active. Hiking, biking, sports were just what the Heisers did.
But among Nick’s favorite memories was watching his father drive up after work for early-evening pick-up basketball games in the driveway. His father, also a physician, would get straight out of his car to shoot hoops with the kids in his shirtsleeves. They loved it.
Their father, Tom Heiser, M.D., is a respected orthopedist and former surgeon. For many years, he served as a team physician for the University of Nebraska and assisted many Lincoln high school athletic programs.
He was a high school football hero in Columbus, Neb., and went on to play for the Cornhuskers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was an academic All-American.
Tom then enrolled in the College of Medicine at UNMC, eventually earning his M.D. degree in 1979. He was ahead of his time in pursuing a fitness program as part of helping deal with the rigorous demands of medical school.
"My father had a true commitment to fitness," Nick said.
Tom went on to practice at Nebraska Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine in Lincoln, where he has worked since it opened in 1987.
In 1990, he suffered a spinal cord injury while surfing in Hawaii and was paralyzed. Nick believes it was his father’s level of fitness that allowed him to survive the accident.
"Had he not lived such an active life, he simply wouldn’t have gotten through rehabilitation and recovery," Nick said.
Though he can no longer perform surgery, Tom continues to practice, using his diagnostic knowledge and experience in managing the care of his patients.
Nick and his brother, Mark, were still young kids when the accident happened. But through the years their dad became even more of a role model to them. He was still active, still fit.
In fact, Tom helped create UNMC’s Center for Healthy Living, making a donation to the original building and – along with James Neff, M.D., then chairman of the UNMC Department of Orthopaedic Surgery – spearheading a campaign to help raise funds for the center.
The facility opened in 1996, and its weight room was named for Tom.
As a med student, Nick made friends for life on the center’s basketball court.
He loved seeing his dad’s name on the wall.
The Heisers are a true UNMC family. Tom’s brother, David Heiser, M.D., is a 1973 alum, as well as their father, Ervin Heiser, M.D., who was a 1943 graduate and a longtime general surgeon in Columbus, Neb.
So is Nick’s uncle, Timothy Kingston, M.D., associate professor of general surgery and 1975 grad, who married Tom’s sister, Marilyn.
UNMC celebrated the re-opening of the renovated and redeveloped Center for Healthy Living in October 2016.
The improvements include:
- Larger strength and fitness machine areas;
- Additional dedicated group fitness activity areas;
- Permanent areas for stretching and table tennis;
- Larger locker rooms with private changing areas and showers;
- New synthetic gym floor designed for user comfort and safety.
Tom’s name is on the new weight room, too.
At the grand opening, UNMC honored Tom and his family, along with the project’s lead donors, Ruth and Bill Scott.
UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., listed several of Tom’s accolades.
"But among his greatest impacts," the chancellor said, "has been through the Center for Healthy Living here at UNMC."