Tennessee woman surprises husband with match for kidney transplant

Heather Winfree's husband could get her kidney by the end of July.

ByABC News
July 10, 2017, 3:21 PM

— -- Steven Winfree has been going through cycles of dialysis to help him survive. He has kidney failure and desperately needs a transplant.

So when his wife, Heather Winfree, found out she was a match to donate her kidney to him, she decided to tell him in a very special way and captured the moment on video.

On July 6, the couple was sitting on their porch in Tennessee going through a pack of baseball cards, which have always been a stress reliever for Steve Winfree, according to his wife. Unbeknownst to him, Heather had made his her own baseball card to surprise him with the good news; she added a picture of Steve to the stack. On the back was a passage full of puns about baseball to announce the match.

"Steve's 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 is a great catch, so she's decided to go to bat for him. Now, Steve will be a rookie recipient of a transplant."

Steve couldn't finish reading the word transplant before he broke down into tears, as the the video showed.

"Are you serious?” he asked between sobs.

"Thanks for saving my life," he added, tearfully.

Heather said she was also emotional when she heard the news, before she shared it with Steve.

She said she received the call at work and had to retreat to the stairwell because she was "bawling [her] eyes out."

After more than a year that Steve has been unable to do things he normally could, now he can receive her kidney as soon as the end of July.