In this story, everything turned out a little differently than expected …
Simon Louis, 49, didn’t wait to be rejected when he offered Mary Emmanuelle his hand, because he helped her stay alive! But Mary said no, although she loved him because due to poor health she did not want to make plans for the future.
However, they remained friends. Simon says:
“I offered her my heart, but I had to limit myself to a kidney. No matter what happens, I will never regret giving her life.”
Mary answers this:
“He is my best friend and always will be. We have true love. He risked his life for me.”
They first met in a London club in the mid-1990s. Mary, who was then 20 years old, immediately thought that the 28-year-old Simon was a “handsome bully”.
Sometimes they kissed and flirted with each other, but they did not have a serious relationship. Simon, who dated other girls but kept thinking about Mary, always gave her roses or chocolates on Valentine’s Day.
In September 2014, Mary suddenly lost consciousness and her skin turned yellow. After a brain hemorrhage, she lay in a coma for two weeks and spent two months in intensive care, where she was diagnosed with kidney disease in the last stage.
The only hope for salvation was a transplant, but it was very difficult to find a donor because Mary has a very rare blood type (third negative).
Simon visited her in the hospital every day, sometimes even staying overnight.
After a couple of weeks, Simon offered to take tests for donor matching – and it turned out that he could be a donor. After two surgeries, friends helped each other get back on their feet.
It was then that Simon proposed to Mary, but was disappointed by her response.
Mary explained her refusal thus:
“I gently refused him, saying that I need to think. I feel like if we were to get married, I would be worried that it would hurt our special friendship, and I also don’t want to get married until I’m fully recovered.”
