Mom receives son's kidney after his unexpected death

CHICAGO (WPVI) -- Ronald Perry died unexpectedly at the age of 24 after suffering a severe stroke. He was the perfect match for his mother, who desperately needed a kidney transplant.

"Not that I didn't want it. I wanted my son. I didn't want his kidney. I wanted him," Rose Perry said.

Perry, 50, of Oak Forest, Illinois, was in the process of registering with the transplant waiting list when her son died. She had a hard time accepting Ronald's death, but her family convinced her that the transplant was the right thing to do.

"I decided with my husband and other son I would take the kidney and then I would always have a part of Ronald with me. He sits right here in my stomach every day the rest of my life," she said.

"The transplant has now doubled her lifespan instantly," Dr. Deepak Mital, Advocate Christ Medical Center, said.

Perry has had diabetes since she was 29. Last August, she learned she was in Stage 5 renal failure and dialysis and, ultimately, a kidney transplant, were needed to save her life. With a 5-year waiting list in Illinois, her doctors believed there was a good chance she wouldn't survive.

Perry said her son would have been thrilled to know he saved her.

"If he understands and realizes that he saved my life he would be all for it," she said.

Perry received her transplant last week. She was released from the hospital in time to attend Ronald's wake and funeral.

"He had so many friends. So many people attended his wake, funeral. They all say the same thing, he was big soft-hearted teddy bear," Perry said.