Daily Inspiration: Meet Ado Hidic

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ado Hidic.

Hi Ado, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My history is pretty interesting. I was born in Bosnia in the early nineties during a genocide, so my newborn and toddler life consisted of survival through refugee camps in Croatia and dodging bullets once back in Bosnia. Once the war settled, we were sponsored to come to the United States. Honestly, this was the last place I wanted to end; I was so far from home and everything and everyone I knew and loved.

Most of my childhood consisted of a typical immigrant upbringing: parents working a lot in lower-income jobs and trying to provide for their families as best they can. I learned English quickly in order to fit in and find my way around. My life was mostly uneventful until I went to college. I was the first person in my family to go to college, which was a huge accomplishment and a sense of pride for my family. I was also the first and only to pursue a Master’s degree. Ultimately, I ended up as a pediatric registered nurse after obtaining an associate degree.

Healthcare has always been my passion as I love to help people and I love to be challenged. As far as a more personal aspect of my life, my sexuality and gender identity have had quite a journey. Growing up in a Bosnian Muslim family, the topic of sexuality being anything but straight wasn’t an easy one. I had a traumatic coming out, which took years and work in therapy to work through. However, once I came out as transgender, my family accepted me instantly. Their reasoning was that I was gone and I was missed when I had come out originally.

Currently, my wife, Kyira, and I live and work as registered nurses in Phoenix, with our dog, Honey Biscuits. Kyira and I have a pretty interesting story; we went to high school together, then rival universities just to end up in the same career field and being closer than ever. We are hoping to bring a new member to our family in the coming year.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I definitely had a lot of struggles throughout my life: surviving genocide, coming to a new country without knowing the language, and having to navigate that, my coming out journey (from straight to bisexual to lesbian to a transgender man), and all of the challenges I faced both personally and professionally during that time, working in healthcare during a global pandemic with my partner and hoping we don’t get sick each time we went to work, my mother being diagnosed with lung cancer (and surviving!).

I’ve been through a lot, I’m mostly glad I had a really great support system through it all.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am finally doing exactly what I wanted to do all along and was always scared to do: become a pediatric emergency department nurse.

I’ve always loved working with kids, but being a nurse was always so daunting to me. I’m the type of person that loves being good at something right away, and nursing was a process. It was hard working getting to become a nurse, and it’s still challenging. I’m truly in the best place to be a new nurse; I work in one of the most supportive units with some of the most passionate, caring, and intelligent people I’ve ever met.

We all have different ways of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Being content. I feel like living in the age of instant gratification and need for more, I keep thinking of being content as opposed to attaining more and more.

Content for me is having enough to be comfortable and happy. I don’t need all the money and things in the world, I need my wife (and our dog!), family, and friends, a place to live, good food, safety, and some money to explore the world around me. That’s it. Simple.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @ado.hidic

Image Credits
@mayapapayapictures