A New York mother who was encouraged by doctors to abort her baby 30 years ago has now received a life-saving kidney from the very son who may not exist today had she listened to the medical advice.
Wife Says ‘Let God Do His Part,’ Discovers She’s a Match For Husband’s Kidney Transplant
Long Island resident Evelyn Bowens was 35 when doctors informed her that she had a weakened cervix, a condition that could lead to miscarriage or premature birth, the New York Post reported.
“My doctor told me to abort him because of the high risk and I said, no, I’m not gonna do it,” Bowens told WCBS-TV.
Doctors were correct in one prediction — Bowens gave birth at seven months to a baby that weighed just 3 pounds, 12 ounces.
Bowens named her son Miles, and although he spent the first weeks of his life in an incubator and required surgery to remove hernias before he was a month old, he grew up to become a healthy man. And when his mother’s health began to fail, Miles ended up being the miracle she needed: a match for a kidney.
“The miracle of this whole thing is, I had a high-risk pregnancy, and they told me to get rid of Miles,” Bowens, now 65, told the Post. “If I had gotten rid of my son as a baby, I wouldn’t have this kidney.”
Miles Lowe said he always cherished his mother, who worked as a teacher, night tutor and children’s music minister at their local church to make ends meet and raise her children alone – all while suffering from high blood pressure.
“A lot of people don’t have their mother to take care of them or show them love, and she showed me love and put a roof over my head all these years,” he said.
This wasn’t the first time Lowe helped to care for his mother. After his elder siblings went to college, he would bring his mother her blood pressure medication to her bedside, and the two would bond and talk about their days.
When Evelyn’s creatine levels spiked four years ago, doctors told her she would need to go on dialysis if she didn’t receive a kidney transplant soon. Lowe didn’t hesitate to help his mother.
“Right then and there in the doctor’s office, they told me, ‘She is going to need a transplant,’ and I said, ‘I will do it, ma, we have the same blood type,’” he said. “I didn’t even ask my wife. I was just like, ‘I have to go do this for my mother.’ I owe her.”
After Lowe passed all of the necessary medical screening tests, he had the operation last June.
“I mean, how many opportunities do you have as a son or a daughter to come back and help your parent in a major way?” Lowe said.
On Sunday, the family had double the reason to celebrate Mother’s Day: Bowens’ newfound health.
“It’s a true blessing to be sitting next to her knowing she’s good and she could be with all her grandkids and be in good health,” Lowe said.
(H/T: New York Post)