A loving wife has given her husband the gift of life - after donating her kidney. Keith Woods waited on the transplant list for an agonising four-and-a-half years before wife Dawn was revealed as his perfect match in more ways than one.The diabetes sufferer, of Station Road, Codsall, was ready to give up hope when, in a last-ditch effort, Dawn went for tests despite doctors’ warnings the chances of her being suitable were rare.
The devoted couple are now recovering at their home after undergoing the life-saving operation at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital just days before celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary.
Surgeons have been amazed at their progress, and Keith says he feels like a “new man”.
The 40-year-old father-of-two beamed: “I just feel so fit and healthy. It is over now and I can start living my life again. I felt like I was just floating along waiting for something to happen and it finally has.”
He added that he couldn’t wait to go on a family holiday, get a job and play football with his two sons, Michael, aged 14, and 13-year-old Sam.
The operation has put an end to Keith’s regular dialysis treatment at the renal unit of Cannock Hospital. The tiring sessions stopped him from leading a normal life for more than four years. Dawn added proudly: “The boys are just so happy. They have finally got their dad back.
“I saw Keith for the first time two days after the operation and his eyes were sparkling for the first time in years.
“Keith can start living again. He doesn’t have to just survive anymore.
“We laugh at the scar I’ve got since the operation. I say it’s the badge I received for saving my husband’s life.
“I didn’t get him any other presents for our wedding anniversary. I think the present he got was enough.
“We are just so happy and couldn’t have wished for anything more than this.”
The couple thanked hospital staff for their support and said they were looking forward to getting on with the rest of their lives away from the shadow of dialysis sessions three times a week.
Keith said: “I am very thankful to the staff at Cannock who have helped me for the past four years but I am so glad that I can finally start living again.
“I used to have treatment three times a week and it obviously had a great impact on my lifestyle.
“I seemed to wait so long for something to happen and we just couldn’t believe that the solution was right in front of us all along.
“Everything has gone so well and the doctors are so impressed with how it has all gone. This is my chance at life again.”
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