A three-year-old needed someone, anyone to save her, and fortunately, she got a new lease on life when her grandfather came to the rescue.
Doctors told Penny Powell’s parents that the little girl was unlikely to live beyond the age of five if she did not get a new kidney. This rollercoaster journey of her health began as soon as she was born. At the time, they were worried that she would not survive at all, but somehow Penny defied expectations and lived for three years.
The little girl was born with abnormal kidneys, two holes in her heart, and also battled a lung disease. Even though she survived, it was not without challenges, as Penny had made at least 11 trips to the ER since she was born.
Then, a year ago, her parents received terrible news — Penny would not live beyond the age of five if she did not get a kidney transplant.
As one might expect, the whole family got tested in hopes that they would be a match, so that they can donate their kidney. But the only match was Penny’s 64-year-old grandfather, John.
John was only too happy to do this for his grandbaby. He underwent surgery and had one of his kidneys removed to be transplanted to Penny.
The surgery was successful, and both John and Penny had been doing just fine since then.
When asked how he felt about giving his granddaughter a chance to get better, John said there was nothing he would not do to help her:
If it were a question of selling my home and all of my possessions to help her out, I would do it … I’ve never questioned my decision. For me, it’s the ultimate gift that a dad can give to his son — to help save his child for him.
John described Penny as a beautiful and wonderful child. He also talked about how brave she was that despite all her health challenges, she was still a happy, playful girl.
John also used the opportunity to appeal to people to help out when they can:
It’s never too late to help others. You have two good working kidneys, one of which you don’t need, so if you can, it’s more than a worthwhile thing to do.
He described how amazing it was that age was not a barrier. In fact, the age gap between John and Penny was considered one of the largest when it came to kidney donation in the UK.
Stuart, John’s son, was also incredibly grateful to his father for this sacrifice.
“I will never be able to repay him,” he said.
