Stewart Botsford, age 54, of Arlington Heights is recovering from a life-saving kidney transplant thanks to the kindness of a stranger who saw a post on Facebook and decided to help.
Botsford’s kidneys were failing after years of struggling with diabetes and hypertension. Botsford, and Illinois Tollway worker, was undergoing grueling dialysis treatments three times a week when his wife Laura had the idea to put window signs in the family’s cars appealing for help. Botsford, who also has an adult daughter, was told he could die waiting for a kidney from a deceased donor.
Justin Maduena, a downstate Illinois native, met face-to-face for the first time a few weeks ago when Maduena volunteered to donate his kidney.
Both fathers are doing well after the surgeries. Both men hope their story will bring more attention to the plight of hundreds of thousands of people in need of lifesaving organ transplants.
Dual operations were performed at the University of Chicago Medical Center on Tuesday, and were the result of a chain of chance events that led to Maduena finding out about Botsford’s quest to find a kidney from a live donor.
After months of the car signs attempt, someone saw one of their signs, took a picture of it and put it on their Facebook page. The post was eventually shared with Maduena’s wife, who texted it to the 42-year-old utility worker, who surprised himself and immediately called Botsford to say he would help.
A gofundme page has been setup to help the donor with his travel expenses — and possibly lost work income …
Justin Maduena – Kindness Repaid
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