DAD KNOWS BEST
I refused to watch my son die so secretly donated my kidney after he banned me from being a live donor
FACED with his son dying in front of his eyes, dad Scott Morlen couldn't just sit back and accept his boy's fate.
At 26 years old, Lewis was in desperate need of a kidney transplant.
6
6
From the age of 11 he had suffered problems, but it was only when he turned 17 that doctors diagnosed him with kidney disease IgA nephropathy.
Initially he managed to carry on with day-to-day life, working 12-hour shifts as a chef and playing rugby.
But after moving from Brighton to Worthing, Sussex, last year Lewis's condition took a dramatic turn for the worse when his kidney function collapsed.
It left him feeling as though he had "already died and was carrying his body around with him".
Doctors told the 26-year-old his only hope was a transplant, but he refused to accept a family donation - not prepared to put his loved ones through potentially dangerous surgery.
Yet, dad Scott refused to watch his son die.
He went behind Lewis's back to register as his donor, only telling his son one month before the pair were due to have surgery in May.
After six hours in the operating theatre, the pair are now back to full health with Lewis able to live a normal life.
Lewis said: “When dad told me he was giving me his kidney, I was absolutely overwhelmed.
6
6
“Initially he didn't want to tell me because he didn't want to get my hopes up, he wanted me to focus on my health.
“Before the donation, I had been on a clear downward path with no improvement – I was on borrowed time and my kidney function was going down and down.
“It felt like I had already died and was just dragging my body around.
“Now it is almost like I’ve been reborn – I never thought I would know how it felt to be this healthy.
“I am incredibly grateful for what dad has done, when I have children I would do anything I can for them like he has done.
They all wanted to help and get tested to see if they could donate, but I was reluctant. I really didn’t want them to suffer any pain, even if it was to help and save me
Lewis Morlen
“He has been absolutely selfless, and has saved my life.”
Dad, Scott told Good Morning Britain hosts Ben Shepherd and Kate Garraway: "To see my boy well again it's worth everything.
"Every bit of pain, every bit of tiredness, everything.
"He can be very headstrong, but I wasn't taking 'no' for an answer."
Lewis said he had initially refused a family donation for fear of putting his loved ones in danger.
"I was really worried about family, I wouldn't want them to go in for a major operation or anything bad to happen to them.
"They all wanted to help and get tested to see if they could donate, but I was reluctant.
"I really didn't want them to suffer any pain, even if it was to help and save me."
6
Lewis was first diagnosed with Henoch-Schonlein purpura – a disease involving inflammation of small blood vessels – aged 11, only to be diagnosed with IgA nephropathy several years later.
But despite having to take medication to control his blood pressure he lived a full live, taking his job as a chef seriously and working 12 hours a day and playing rugby.
His health deteriorated in September last year after he registered with a new GP in Worthing and was sent for some routine blood tests.
These discovered Lewis’ kidney function had collapsed and his potassium, creatinine and urea levels were through the roof and he was rushed to A&E.
With a renal function of just nine per cent, Lewis suddenly faced hours a day on dialysis with no chance of improvement.
Unable to sit back any longer, Scott, who works with children in autism in residential care, decided he couldn’t do nothing so secretly undertook tests to find out if he was a suitable organ donor.
His son had said that he’d never accept a donation, and Scott didn’t want to build his hopes prematurely, so he went through the more than 15 nerve-wracking rounds of tests to check he would be suitable to donate the kidney behind his back.
6
And at the end of March this year, as his son entered a new form of dialysis, Scott found out he’d been approved as a donor so drove to Worthing to tell him in an emotional reveal.
Th pair had the surgery in May, and at the end of it Scott refused to go to sleep as he was waiting to see if his son's part of the operation had gone well, while Lewis demanded to be transported to see his dad as soon as he woke up.
Scott said he was over the moon the transplant had been a success after the agony of waiting to find out if he would be approved.
The dad-of-five, from Brighton, said: “Lewis insisted he would never take a donation from a live donor so I did it all behind his back.
“I had to have a full health MOT and every time they did tests I thought there would be something wrong.
“That’s why I couldn’t tell him – I didn’t want to give him false hope.
“When I told him he was really low, he cried like a five-year-old, it was like I had my little boy back.”
MOST READ IN HEALTH
Since the op, Lewis is feeling a level of energy he didn't know was possible and is planning to go back to work on a chef while Scott is also on the mend and has even started running again.
Lewis said: “Before, for the last five to six years I would sleep for 12 hours and then want to go back to sleep.
“I worked very hard as a chef, so I just thought that was how it was.
“Now I have a new kidney, I can work for hours and be fine – I’ve never felt like that before.”
Scott added: “It is eight weeks on and I feel great, there are still some aches and pains but it has been a rollercoaster ride.
“I would give my life for my son.
“I told him, I have done what I want to do, I don’t want to be burying my children and that is what would have happened.”
Register to be an organ donor at the
We pay for your stories! Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours
Topics