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VOW: Lee Ferrigon with his late wife Keisha

LEE FERRIGON is on a mission. He donated one of his kidneys to a man earlier this year after pledging he would always try to do good following the death of his wife Keisha in November last year, at just 32.

Ferrigon, a Christian, has also set up a foundation in his late wife’s name to honour her memory and life.

An elder in training at the Seventh-Day Adventist church in Burnsgreave, Sheffield, Lee’s life was totally transformed when Keisha, his wife of four years, fell ill with stomach pains.

Doctors initially said Keisha was suffering from an ulcer, but further tests showed that she had cancer. Within weeks of being diagnosed, Keisha died.

Following his wife’s death, Lee, 35, who works as an inclusion manager at a secondary school, promised God and himself that he would honour his late wife’s memory by doing good.

He said: “My wife’s death inspired me to be more diligent. Keisha was a person to go all out for people – young people, her church and the promise of the Lord that we have.”

Lee got a chance to carry out his pledge when he visited Faith Dimensions church in Milton Keynes. Prior to going he had heard about Darren Ferguson through a friend of a friend, who was having dialysis three to four times a week. Darren was in desperate need of a kidney transplant in order to enjoy a better quality of life.

Destined

Whilst at Faith Dimensions, Lee met Darren and felt he was destined to help him in a major way. Lee explained, “When I saw him I knew I was going to give him my kidney. I found out about him, I had a test and my kidney proved to be a match.

I knew it was a God thing. His mum told me she’d been praying for a match for her son for 30 years. God works like that. Although I couldn’t help my wife, I could help someone else.”

Darren is very grateful for the new lease on life he is now experiencing thanks to Lee’s sacrifice.

“It’s amazing. I’m off dialysis and the doctors are happy,” he said. “It’s hard to describe how grateful I am. Lee has truly given me my life back. He has been through so much – but to be able to put himself aside for the benefit of someone else is very special. He’s an amazing man.”

This Sunday (November 27) Lee will be holding a fundraising concert at St Pauls Hotel, Sheffield, the venue where he got married. Proceeds from the concert will be donated to the Keisha Foundation, which he set up to work with local communities in Sheffield, running health programmes and to cancer charities.

For more details phone 07551 510811 or email keishafoundation @live.co.uk