It is understood that Simon Louis, 49, who resides in London, had saved the life of Mary Emmanuelle, 41, a woman he loved for over two decades by donating a kidney but his marriage proposal was still rejected.
Metro UK reports that when Simon popped the question to Mary, who was suffering from last-stage kidney disease and was in coma for a fortnight before the transplant was done, she gently rejected his proposal – though she loved him back, but her health made the future seem uncertain.
The duo, however, promised to remain friends and Simon, said:
“I offered her my heart but I had to settle for giving her my kidney. Whatever happens, I’ll never regret giving her the gift of life.”
Mary, on the other hand, said:
“He is my very best friend and always will be. The love between us is real. He could have died doing what he did for me.”
The pair first met in a London club in the mid-1990s with Mary, then 20, thinking Simon, 28, was “a good-looking bad boy”.
They shared an odd smooch and flirted but things between them never progressed further.
As the years passed they stayed pals, Mary busy with her young son Dwayne and her job as a stockbroker’s secretary while Simon helped his brother organise music events.
In September 2014 Mary, who was only 37, suddenly collapsed at home and her skin went yellow. Her son Dwayne, then 21, found her on the floor choking in her vomit and she was rushed to Guy’s Hospital in South London. She suffered brain haemorrhage and slipped into a coma, and was in intensive care for two months.
She was diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease and transplant was the only option to save her life.
However, her rare B negative blood group made it difficult to find a suitable donor on time. So, she was discharged from hospital in January 2015 but had to return daily kidney dialysis.
Simon who was by her side all this while suggested he be tested to see if he was a match as a donor. Much to his surprise, he turned out to be a suitable donor for Mary and he offered to donate his kidney.
Months after the pair recovered from their surgeries, Simon gathered the courage one night while cooking dinner and proposed Mary for marriage.
Mary then said, “I felt incredibly flattered that he should want to marry me after seeing me at my absolute worst.”
“But I let him down gently by saying I’d have to think about it. I think I’d worry if we got married it would in some way damage our special friendship and also I don’t want to get wed until I’m fully better health-wise.”
Simon insisted he had no regrets about his decision to become a donor, saying:
“I didn’t think twice about it. There’s no question about doing something like that for someone you love.”
Source: 360nobs