Such a nice kidney: Have one of mine, Tak tells mum
Actress Bongkod "Tak" Kongmalai had quite a roller coaster of a life before marrying billionaire Boonchai Benjarongkakul and settling down to raise their lovely son, Khao Hom.
It still isn’t as settled as she’d like, however, with her mother Thanapha Cheepnurak ailing. But Tak seems to found a wonderful way to put things right.
Mae Lek, as Mum is affectionately known, nurtured Tak as a single mother. In recent years she’s endured a slew of chronic diseases, including a heart ailment and diabetes leading to kidney failure. Tak is of course able to afford the best medical treatment, but her mother still undergoes dialysis treatments every other day – not to repair the kidneys, which are fine now, but to avoid future complications.
Worried about the same possible eventuality, Tak learned that a kidney transplant was the best avenue and that family members are ideal donors (and no waiting list to deal with, of course). A quick check confirmed that one of Tak’s kidneys would fit nicely inside Mae Lek’s health portfolio.
Mum wasn’t so sure, though. She objected that Tak is still young and has to take care of her child. Daughter insisted nevertheless, saying she and her mother “are the same person”.
So more preparatory tests are being done, with the results due in about three weeks and approval pending from the Red Cross, which oversees organ transplants.
Mae Lek is nothing short of overwhelmed by her daughter’s decision, and so was Tak’s husband when he found out. Giving up a kidney naturally leaves the donor at risk as well. But if the operation gets the green light, it will take place at Bamrungrad Hospital and cost around Bt2 million. Boonchai’s more than ready to pay.
CD eyes the saffron robe
Meanwhile over at Ramathibodi Hospital, child actor Kritnai “CD” Laohaprasart from “Tukkae Rak Pang Mak” continues to recover well from his surgery last week. He’s out of intensive care, can speak normally and seems to have shed most of the symptoms of the Moyamoya disease that has afflicted him – but not all.
The surgeon found signs of Moyamoya in the right brain, only at the beginning stage but still requiring close observation. The doctor said the disease is usually found on both sides of the brain, but luckily CD has it only on one side.
The disease, first identified in Japan, takes the Japanese word for “puff of smoke”, an allusion to the way tiny blood vessels look when they tangle up, forming a blockage.
We mentioned that CD is talking, and he’s quite well-spoken too. He said he’s survived this very difficult time in his life and he’s no longer afraid of anything else that might crop up. At the moment he’s mulling five years in the monkhood – the same period of time he’s lived with the condition. He reckons that by the time he returns to the layman’s life he’ll be ready for surgery on the right side of his brain if the disease does indeed spread. (Or maybe being so devoted to the Buddhist tenets would cure the disease altogether, we’d like to think.)
CD’s plan came as news to his mother. “Why didn’t you ask me first?” she demanded. His elder brother is already a monk for life!
