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We’ve all done questionable things in the name of love, but Colleen Le's generous gift to her now-ex-boyfriend could've cost her her life.
Colleen was 24 and head-over-heels in love with her boyfriend who was suffering from chronic kidney failure. When Colleen was tested and discovered she was a match for him, she donated him one of her kidneys – only for him to cheat on her seven months later.
Chronic kidney failure is incurable, and can quickly become fatal if sufferers do not receive regular dialysis treatment or a kidney transplant.
“The biggest surgery I've ever had before that was probably getting my wisdom teeth out. I didn't know what to expect, but I knew it would change his life for the better,” Colleen, who's from California, said of the surgery which took place in 2016.
Colleen is now 30 and she shared her story on TikTok. Her video then went viral after racking up more than 1,6 million views.
@colleeeniie #answer to @spidermark790 ? original sound - Colleen Le
She said her boyfriend had cheated on her at a bachelor party in Las Vegas while she was at work at Disneyland.
“I trusted him completely. I didn't think that he would do anything to betray me like that. It really threw me off guard.”
READ MORE | Gift of love: Durban man saves wife's life through organ donation
Gutted by her boyfriend’s confession – the same night that he was unfaithful to her – she left work early.
I used to work at Disneyland – a place where dreams come true. You always have to be happy, but they sent me home right after.”
Colleen stayed in the relationship for another three months, admitting that she didn't know "why I wanted to make it work, but I did".
In the end, her boyfriend dumped her, saying, "You know what, if God wants us back together, he'll bring us back together".
“[He] broke it off, hung up, blocked me and stopped answering my calls and texts. He just cut ties with me immediately.”
READ MORE | 'I'd do it all over again' – Cape Town dad donates part of his liver to his dying daughter
Colleen was devastated but she learned to make peace with it.
“Saving someone's life. . . I could never regret that. It still feels good,” she says, even though she wanted to burn the transplant certificate she received acknowledging her selfless deed.
“I'm still proud of myself for giving someone a second chance at life.”
Colleen is now happily in a relationship with her new boyfriend, Dalton Mann, with whom she's been since 2017.
Sources: NY Post, People, Independent, TikTok
