They Wore Green T-Shirts to a Cardinals Game, Fatefully

It leads to a wild meeting
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted May 7, 2019 8:53 AM CDT
Heart Recipient Meets Donor's Family by Chance at MLB Game
Fans gather outside Busch Stadium on Jan. 2, 2017, in St. Louis.   (AP Photo/Billy Hurst)

A heart recipient ran into his donor's family completely by chance at an MLB game—and it was all due to a bunch of T-shirts. CBS News reports that Savannah Chavez Roesch and family members went to the St. Louis Cardinals' "Transplant Awareness Day" on April 28, all wearing bright-green shirts with the face of her brother, Donovan Bulger, who was an organ donor. In a Facebook post, Roesch notes she'd exchanged letters with the recipient of her brother's heart, but she explains they weren't allowed to offer any info that identified themselves beyond first names. As Roesch and her family were getting their photo taken at the game, however, a woman approached and asked if they knew Bulger; she'd recognized his face on their shirts. When Roesch confirmed the query, the woman had a confession: She was the daughter of John Sueme, the recipient of Bulger's heart, and he was at the game.

"I think everyone in the ballpark heard our cries & shrieks of complete shock & joy!!!!" Roesch writes. "I think Donovan arranged us to meet this way. What are the chances of this happening?!?" She includes an emotional video in her Facebook post that shows Sueme hugging her family members close so they could hear and feel Bulger's heart beating in his chest. Per ABC News, Sueme had received Bulger's heart in 2016, after a five-year stint in a heart failure clinic. The two families also took group pictures together and exchanged contact information. "It was kind of a magical moment, and I hope we can continue this relationship," Sueme says. (In Mississippi, a "gift" to the family of another heart donor.)

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