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"Phillip Phillips is a champ in more ways than one.\r\nThe 21-year-old pawn shop employee from Leesburg, Ga. beat frontrunner Jessica Sanchez to become the season 11 winner of American Idol on Wednesday night, and quietly confirmed that he&amp;apos;ll undergo surgery before the FOX show&amp;apos;s live tour kicks off in July.\r\n\r\nAnd, indeed, Phillips has battled serious kidney problems throughout his life and throughout his victorious time on American Idol.\r\n&amp;quot;He&amp;apos;a been hiding the full extent of his problems from the public, but he was actually born with only one functioning kidney,&amp;quot; explains one show insider to Us Weekly.\r\n\r\nPhillips even called upon the help of his girlfriend, nursing student Hannah Blackman, during the final-9 portion of the show. &amp;quot;She has medical training,&amp;quot; the insider explains. &amp;quot;She takes care of him and is always there in case he needs help. She&amp;apos;s so sweet and truly cares for him.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nLast Friday, Phillips was late for finale rehearsals because of a visit to the hospital, where he was administered with IV fluids. &amp;quot;But he still came to work right after,&amp;quot; marvels the insider. &amp;quot;He is in a lot of pain constantly, &amp;quot; continues the source &amp;quot;but he&amp;apos;d hate anyone to feel sorry for him, and never wanted to be popular because of it. He&amp;apos;s amazing.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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