FARGO-A Portland woman donated a kidney to her older brother five years ago. Now, she has filed a restraining order against him.
The woman's brother, Keith Flaten of Hope, left threatening voicemails on her cellphone April 18 saying he was coming to her home to choke her to death, according to the restraining order filed Monday in Traill County District Court.
Lori Thompson's petition to the court states that when her brother arrived, he approached her, called her names and raised his fist to her in front of her teenage son and a group of his friends.
Thompson's husband, Daniel, got between the siblings, Thompson's petition states, which led to a short physical scuffle between the two. Her brother's parting words were, "I knew I shouldn't have accepted a kidney from an (expletive) like you," according to the petition.
Thompson declined in an interview Tuesday to go into detail about what led to the falling-out with her brother. She said he has suffered for some time from mental health issues and has a past history of alcoholism.
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"It's very hurtful that the same person whose life I saved turns around and threatens you," she said.
An ad in the Traill County Tribune shows that organizers threw a benefit in March 2011 for Keith Flaten and his wife for Flaten's kidney transplant.
Flaten could not be reached for comment.
