A Chicago Cubs fan got a new lease on life when a White Sox fan donated his kidney to her in 2020, and they were both honored prior to a game at Wrigley Field Wednesday.
Bridgett Kolls was just 20 years old in 2019 when she was diagnosed with lupus and stage 5 kidney disease.
After being told by physicians that a kidney donation could take years to make come together, she decided to get creative, and went to work on a poster to draw attention to her cause.
The poster read “This Lil’ Cubbie Needs a Kidney,” and she brought it to a May 2019 game at Wrigley Field.
Incredibly, it was Thomas Alessio, a White Sox fan, who saw her sign and was inspired to reach out to the kidney transplant team at Advocate Christ Medical Examiner in suburban Oak Lawn.
Bridget Kolls, a Cubs fan, threw out the first pitch at Wrigley Field on Wednesday night, reuniting with her kidney donor, Thomas Alessio — a die-hard White Sox fan.
As it turns out, he was a match, and Alessio and Kolls underwent a living donor kidney transplant in July 2020.
Now, six years later, Kolls is a nursing assistant at Advocate Health Care in Downers Grove, and she was honored by the Cubs before their game with the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night at Wrigley Field.
She and Alessio both got to participate in a pregame ceremony, and she threw a first pitch prior to the game.
Needless to say, it was an emotional moment for two people from opposing baseball fandoms who bonded over the shared experience of organ donation.
More information on Advocate Health Care’s organ donation program can be found here.
