A Fife couple have gone one step further than giving each other their hearts Gordon Honeyman has given wife Helen a kidney.
By an incredible twist of fate, Gordon was found to be a match when Helen needed a third kidney transplant.
The 48-year-olds, who have been together for 33 years, are now recovering at home in Falkland after a transplant operation in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
Helen fell ill as a child and received her first kidney transplant at the age of 17.
That and a second transplant several years later were successful for some time.
But when Helen discovered she needed a third transplant, her only hope was to find a donor whose kidney matched her blood type and tissue group.
None of her blood relatives were found to be matches, but amazingly Gordon was and he quickly made up his mind on what he wanted to do.
He said, “Last year Helen was hit with septicemia which almost killed her.
“Once we found out that we were a match I took the decision to give her my kidney. But that wasn’t just for Helen, it was also for me.
“I didn’t want to go through that again.”Husband is “incredible”Just over four weeks since the successful operation, Gordon says he is now starting to feel “like a human again” and has settled back into his routine of walking the family dog.
He said, “I have never had a major operation before but I have had the easy end of the deal and don’t have days of tests to go through.”
A kidney taken from a donor can function for around 10 years. However, in this case, as the donor was living, the timeframe is double that.
At home on Friday, Helen said she was already noticing a big difference in her daily routine.
She said, “I have more energy and am more alert. When you are on dialysis all the time it is very tiring.
“At first I didn’t want to take Gordon’s kidney because I had been on the donor list for four years and wanted to see if anything would come from that first.
“But my energy was getting lower and he really insisted so I agreed.”
She added, “I think he is incredible.”
Gordon and Helen have a son Alistair, daughter Lauren and a granddaughter, also Lauren, who is almost two.
They spoke of their gratitude towards hospital staff in Edinburgh and those in Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital where Helen is receiving after-care.