Woman to give life-saving kidney to her stepfather
A SELFLESS mother of three is set to give her “incredible” and “loving” stepfather the ultimate gift – her kidney.
Lucy Hansen-Clarke is to donate a kidney next month in a bid to enhance the life of well-known former dance teacher David Brown.
David ran Sybil Marks School of Dancing in Birchgrove, Cardiff, with his wife, Jeanette, before he suffered a massive heart attack more than five years ago.
Due to his ill-health the popular school, which opened nearly a century ago, had to shut its doors.
Because of his heart troubles the 63-year-old has needed to take medication which has severely affected his kidney function and led to him needing dialysis.
David underwent a successful heart transplant in November last year, and his stepdaughter, Lucy, has now decided to offer one of her kidneys to the man who raised her as his own.
“My stepdad is incredible. He’s the friendliest, most fantastic man you could ever meet,” said Lucy, who also lives in Cardiff.
“He’s always been a rock, and so loving and supportive no matter what.
“And he’s taught thousands of people how to dance. Everybody loves him.”
David travelled to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham in August 2016 for the life-saving heart transplant.
But the process of finding a suitable donor was far from plain sailing.
“It was an emotional rollercoaster for everyone,” added Lucy.
“Unfortunately my dad had two false alarms. We’d take the train up to Birmingham to see him, thinking we’d got a match, only to be told by a nurse that it wasn’t going ahead.
“It was just really disappointing. We could see him getting weaker and weaker before our eyes.”
David finally underwent the procedure in November 2016 and returned home to the Welsh capital just in time for Christmas, on December 23.
But as a result of taking the strong heart medication over several years David’s kidney began to fail.
He had been functioning on one kidney ever since he was 15 years old, when he fell through a roof and crushed the side of his body.
Lucy said it was a no-brainer to offer one of her kidneys to her stepfather despite the obvious risks.
She added: “He had the choice of either the kidney coming from a living donor or someone who had passed away.
“A living donor would give him a better chance of the kidney not being rejected, so it was down to me or my mum.
“There was never a question in my mind. Of course I wanted to give one of my kidneys to him – I don’t need two!”
Lucy said her stepfather initially “point blank refused” to let her donate the organ because of the long-term health implications.
“I’m more likely to have diabetes and a higher blood pressure, so I know the risks,” she said. “But I worked on my dad and I managed to convince him it was the right thing to do.
“When we were in Birmingham we spoke to a young lady around the same age as me who had just donated a kidney to her husband – and she was fine. That, I think, was the turning-point.”
Lucy, 36, has already undergone rigorous psychological evaluations to make sure she’s mentally ready for the procedure.
She said she would like to undergo the procedure at the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff, but David will be under the care of the same Birmingham-based team who carried out his heart transplant.
“Despite not being a blood relative I matched three out of the five markers for the transplant,” she added.
David, who taught ballroom, Latin and Le Roc dancing, as well as organising children’s parties at Sybil Marks School of Dancing, said he will never know how he can repay his stepdaughter. He said: “She’s absolutely fabulous and I don’t know how to say thank you to her.
“I’ve known her since she was a tiny baby, and she also sees her biological dad, so she’s very lucky to have two dads looking after her. We both walked her down the aisle.”