Fan battling kidney disease gets custom baseball card revealing his wife’s a matching donor
You might cry while watching this video.
A baseball fan who’s been battling kidney disease for 14 years received the most heartwarming and emotional news this week. Steve and Heather Winfree were opening baseball cards one night and going through the pack — players like Noah Syndergaard, Ben Zobrist, and Mike Trout were part of the pack. At the end of the pack, there was a special card made just for Steve: the card announced that he would be receiving a new kidney thanks to his wife, who had found out she was a matching donor. Let the happy tears begin.
Steve and Heather also processed what it took to make this reveal possible, which led to a lighthearted moment:
Heather: “I got the phone call, and I went into the stairwell at work, and I just started bawling my eyes out.”
Steve: “That means you lied to me today.”
Heather: “Haha, I made a little fib.”
Steve: “I knew something was up. I knew something was up. ‘Cause you told me to go to Sports Clips and told me to get the MVP. You never tell me to get the MVP.”
Heather: “Treat yourself.”
Steve: “You always tell me that’s a Christmas present. And so I was talking to the lady cutting my hair. I was like, ‘I think something’s up.’ And she goes, ‘Why?’ and I’m like, ‘I’m waiting on a transplant and my wife told me to come get an MVP and she never lets me get an MVP. I have to go to Great Clips and only when it’s $6.’”
Heather: (to the camera) “The MVP is too expensive.”
The Winfrees talked to MLB.com about the moment, and they said that opening baseball cards is a hobby of theirs to take away from the stress of Steve’s condition:
The couple says baseball cards are a type of stress relief and a hobby they can enjoy together, so for Heather to pick up a pack at the local store wasn’t out of the norm.
“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 low-key fun gets our minds off of the every day stresses.”
“She kept saying ‘you have a special insert there,’” Winfree told MLB.com. “I knew something was up because she never films me.”
According to MLB.com, Heather will undergo further testing to make sure she’s good to go through surgery, and if she is, their transplant will take place at the end of the month. So, to the Winfrees: thank you for sharing this really special moment in your lives, and best of luck with the surgery.
(via Cut4/MLB)
