Death shock of kidney-op Dad

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Death shock of kidney-op Dad

May 30 2009 by Andy Passant, Evening Gazette

A KIDNEY patient who was given another lease of life thanks to acts of brotherly love has died suddenly while on holiday.

Dad-of-four David Peacock, 41, was away with a mate in Egypt when he suffered a massive heart attack.

David’s untimely death has been a devastating blow for his family and friends.

It happened just weeks before he was due to become a grandfather for the first time.

Two of his brothers, Garry and Andrew, each gave him the gift of life by donating kidneys.

Andrew was the first to donate the organ but David’s body rejected it.

It was then that Garry became a donor after he was discovered to be the best match.

David, of Trunk Road, Redcar, had the lifesaving operation at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital in 2004.

It gave him a second chance at life and David made the most of every precious day.

But five years later it was his heart, rather than his kidneys, which failed.

David was on holiday in Egypt with a pal, Michael Dowse, when he died on May 14.

Brother Garry, 46, of High Street, Marske, said: “We got a phone call to say he died in his sleep. When his mate went to wake him up he was gone. He had only been there a week.”

Garry said they were a close-knit family and they were in daily contact with David.

“We went to see him every single day. Me and him went to the gym every morning. He was a big lad but quite fit.”

He said David had been “absolutely fine” and had enjoyed a better quality of life after the transplant.

Before the operation he had been “really poorly” and underwent dialysis three times a week.

Garry said: “Andrew was the first match. It only lasted four days. I was never a match at first.

“I didn’t have any problems at all with it.

“It was nice to see him have quality of life.

“He just enjoyed his life. He has got loads of mates, he was a really popular lad.

“He was fun all the time. He enjoyed his nights out with his mates in Redcar.

“All his mates reckoned he was the main lad.

“He liked to do practical jokes on people.”

Garry, a club steward at the Ruby Street Social Club in Saltburn, said his brother’s death hadn’t sunk in yet.

“I don’t think it has really hit us.”

David used to be a doorman in Redcar town centre.

He was also in the TA Paras for a number of years but had to leave because of his health.

He had four children, Katie, Vicky, Matthew and Ross.

Brother Andrew, 38, a wagon driver who lives in Harrogate, said: “We are all still in shock. We are all expecting him to walk through the door. It hasn’t sunk in.

“He told me a few months back ‘I never know when this kidney is going to pack in, I am just going to enjoy it while I can’.”

Andrew did not know why his donated kidney had not lasted.

He said: “I don’t really know what happened. The kidney didn’t take.”

He said David was a well-liked lad who “knew everybody”. “I didn’t realise how many mates he had.”

David’s daughter Katie is expecting a baby boy.

Andrew said: “That would have been his first grandchild. He was due the day after his birthday.”

David also leaves his father Malcolm, two other brothers, Kevin and Tony and a sister, Janette.

His funeral service is due to take place on Friday, June 5 at St Peter’s Church in Redcar.

“Talking to his friends we are expecting a really big turnout,” said Andrew.

We’ve opened an online Book of Condolence, where friends and family are invited to leave tributes to David.

http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2009/05/30/death-shock-of-kidney-op-dad-84229-23747957/