Steve Winfree enjoys opening new packs of baseball cards, so when his wife, Heather, found out she was a kidney match for him, she went above-and-beyond to deliver the news.
According to MLB.com, Steve went on dialysis and the national transplant list in November. It’s been a stressful time for the couple, but the simple act of opening a pack of cards has eased their minds.
“There were a lot of times where he would be in the hospital and I would grab a pack and we would open them,” she explained. “The lowkey fun gets our minds off of the every day stresses.”
After Heather learned she would be able to donate her kidney, she had a custom-designed baseball card made so she could include it in the same pack that contained Mike Trout and Noah Syndergaard cards.
On the special card was a picture of her beloved husband. Position: “Recipient.”
His bio said, “Steve has had a lot on his plate. With his health issues, he’s been striking out a lot. He was not sure how he was going to wind up. His wife, Heather, thinks he’s a great catch so she’s just dying to go to bat for him. Now Steve will be a rookie recipient…”
And that’s when he looked at his wife and began crying.
“I saw it coming,” he told MLB.com “But I lost it and I asked her, ‘You want to save my life?'”
Here’s the video from the life-changing moment:
The transplant is slated to take place at the end of the month.
