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Greg WyshynskiESPN
Kelly Sowatsky fought back the tears after meeting Pittsburgh Penguins players on Thursday morning. This wasn’t just her favorite hockey team; this was the organization that helped save her life.
On March 31, 2018, Sowatsky attended a Penguins’ game against the Montreal Canadiens at PPG Paints Arena. She needed a new kidney. She decided to make a desperate plea at the game, with a sign she created that read: “Calling All Hockey Fans! I need a kidney, kidney, kidney! Gratefully yours, Kelly.” It also included a phone number.
“I remember walking into the ‘Paint Can’ that day. I had that sign in my hand. I knew it was going to work somehow,” she said, via the Penguins, “but never in my wildest dreams did I think it would go viral.”
Her sign was featured inside the arena and tweeted out by the Penguins. It took off from there, getting national news coverage. Eventually, a Penguins fan named Jeff Lynd in Delaware saw it. He reached out, and offered his kidney to see if it was a match. Eight months later, a successful kidney transplant was performed at UPMC hospital on Nov. 6.
The Penguins invited Sowatsky and Lynd for a day at the rink on Thursday, meeting players and watching the Penguins’ 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings in a suite.
We’re honored to host transplant recipient Kelly Sowatsky and kidney donor Jeff Lynd at tonight’s game. Earlier today, Kelly and Jeff joined us in the locker room to meet some of the players.
“This is the best day of my life.”
More on their story: https://t.co/P2I8YaYcX7 pic.twitter.com/bQMiZMIpHq
– Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 27, 2018
“These guys do stuff like this all the time. But I hope they understand what it meant for me to be here,” Sowatsky said. “What this organization did for me is something I can never repay, and something I can never express, how grateful I am. It all started with a tweet.”