Casino valet donates kidney to regular customer

Daily Herald | By Madhu Krishnamurthy

Valet decides casino regular should have his kidney

For a year and a half, Timothy Brennan has been a regular at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, faithfully playing the slots with the hope of winning big.

Brennan recently hit the jackpot. But it was something the 64-year-old Elmhurst man could never have imagined winning, and more valuable than all the money the casino could ever pay out: a kidney donated by a casino valet.

After surviving triple bypass surgery, losing a portion of his left ear to cancer, and having his gall bladder removed, Brennan was told about five years ago that his kidneys were failing. He was given three weeks to live if he didn't immediately start dialysis treatment.

Brennan had been on dialysis for nearly four years when he met Jaime Maldonado.
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