Mother's gift of life saves son
A man from Kidderminster who was told he might not live to see his next birthday has been given the precious gift of life from his mother who donated one of her kidneys to him.
Leslie Pearce, aged 50, had been told by doctors that without a transplant he would not have long to live. But he is now on the road to recovery after his 68-year-old mother Christine made the selfless act of donating one of her kidneys.
Mr Pearce had been on the donor list for three years and his condition was rapidly worsening when his mother stepped in.
But because of her age it took 12 months of rigorous testing to establish that the kidney would not be rejected by its new host.
Mrs Pearce, of Comberton Road, said: "He was getting weaker and weaker. You could see the deterioration and tell that something had to be done pretty quickly. There's nothing worse than seeing your son dying.
"They said unless he got a kidney he would have died. It wasn't a difficult decision at all." She was finally able to undergo the life-saving operation on October 18, at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.
Doctors now say that Mr Pearce is recovering well and expect him to be able to return to work at the family business, Kidderminster Mirror and Glass, within three months.
Mrs Pearce said: "The kidney has taken straight away. It's such a relief. I gave birth to him 50 years ago, then gave him life again just 15 days after his 50th birthday."
Mr Pearce, who lives with his partner Julie Dowling in Bewdley Hill, first found out his kidneys were failing in 2004 when his legs began swelling because of water retention. He was referred to Worcestershire Royal Hospital for a biopsy and spent the following years on a cocktail of pills, before beginning dialysis in 2010.
The family is now urging anyone who is considering donating an organ to act fast.
