A devoted wife has given her husband the ultimate gift after beating million-to-one odds to donate one of her KIDNEYS.
Dan Norcott, 42,, was born with polycystic kidney disease – a genetic condition which led to the death of his dad Malcolm, in 2004
His condition had slowly deteriorated since his diagnosis at the age of 21 and the situation had recently become increasingly worse.
Wife Ali Moore, 46, had to step in after Dan’s mother Jenny was diagnosed with cancer and had to have chemotherapy treatment.
The award-winning author then underwent tests and the couple were delighted when she proved to be a match.
After going under the knife last month the pair are now recovering well at their home following the operation at Leicester General Hospital.
Dan, of Wymeswold, Leics. said: “My condition took a steep downward turn around the middle of March.
“I was trying to work out where to go out for a walk and just sat there looking gormless for about an hour, unable to really think properly, and fully exhausted after a 12 hour sleep.
“Bouts of this became more regular, and we decided to schedule the transplant for April 20, having been told that the healthier you are going into a transplant, the better the outcome is likely to be.
“It’s quite an odd thing to approach for donor and recipient.
“The recipient is looking forward to a new lease of life, and at the same time nervous about the operation and feeling guilty about harming the donor.
“The donor is looking forward to the recipient being well, but dreading a traumatic operation which will do nothing good for their own body.
“Fortunately our marriage is very strong and we love each other very much, and it seems we were able to navigate this without exploding in a tangle of conflicting emotions.
“My main take-homes from the whole experience is that kidney disease is debilitating, keeping fit when you are ill is massively helpful, and transplantation, when it works well, borders on the magical.
“I can’t express how grateful I am to live in a country with the NHS, and to have a wife as fantastic as mine who was willing to undergo this with me.”
