Kidney donation from husband's ex-wife saves Texas woman's life
Angela Maples said this time last year, she wanted a new kidney. She got one. It used to belong to her husband's ex-wife until Oct. 13.
"There was days that I really really wanted to give up. It gets really painful, and I lost a couple of friends that were waiting on kidneys," Maples said. "I started to question my own mortality."
The 44-year-old said she went to the doctor's office following a trip to Hawaii. The outcome was a shocking phone call following tests. She had renal failure. Her physician wanted her to begin dialysis. Maples described the process as visually overwhelming.
Finding a living donor proves difficult
Trying to get a living donor was challenging. Her two strongest possibilities did not come to fruition.
"She said you're a perfect match," Amanda McCowen said. "Those types of matches are typically only seen in a parent donating to a child or a sibling donating to another sibling."
McCowen was married to Maples' husband, Joshua, for five years. The former couple have two children. Maples has been with him for 10 years and married for eight of those.
Coparenting helps rebuild trust over time
"Initially, there was animosity in the beginning," McCowen said.
The women were cordial with each other, but not exactly friends.
"Yeah, it took a long time to rebuild trust with me," Maples said.
They said they started to warm up to each other after about seven years. Coparenting made the difference, according to Maples. She does not have biological children, so conversations about the kids began to break down walls. Soon empathy and friendship followed.
"Because I started praying for her, and instead of it changing her, it changed me. It changed my heart. I had more compassion, more grace, more understanding," Maples said. "What can I do to help you get through this?"
Family faces challenges during treatment
McCowen was going through a second divorce and found an ally in Maples. Meanwhile, Joshua was trying to hold it together. He works as a lineman, unsure whether his wife would survive.
"Walking into the home and seeing it look like a medical building, and the bedroom with the machine and her having a distance of maybe 10 feet from the bed to the bathroom for 14 hours a night every single night," he said. "It was challenging."
Transplant surgery brings healing and hope
By October, the women and their families were at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital, readying for the transplant surgery. Both are healing. As the donor, McCowen's recovery is faster.
"I've had people go oh well you're a hero for donating a kidney and I'm like, you don't realize she is a hero," McCowen said. "This woman was going through 14 hours of dialysis a day for two and a half years, and she still got up, and she was still a mother to our two oldest children that we share, she was still a wife to Josh."
Couple seeks financial assistance for care
Maples is improving, but medical treatment, costly medication, and her husband's time away from work have the couple seeking financial assistance through an online fundraiser on Help Hope Live.
"It was love and forgiveness," Joshua Maples said.
The atmosphere is not as awkward as it used to be. He is getting used to parts of his life bonding as friends. They said it is for everyone's good.
"This has been the best year that I could ever ask for. My birthday was in October. Got the best birthday gift I could ask for, the best Thanksgiving, and we're gonna have a great Christmas," he said.