A Pittsburgh Penguins fan has a new kidney after she was spotted at a game in March holding a sign indicating she was in need of a transplant.
Kelly Sowatsky brought the sign to the March 31 game against Montreal. It said, "Calling All Hockey Fans! I Need A Kidney! Kidney! Kidney! Gratefully Yours, Kelly."
The sign was featured on Twitter after after the Penguins' social media lead, Andi Perelman, saw it during the game against the Montreal.
Media outlets saw the post and shared it, helping her request go viral.
A fellow Penguins fan in Delaware took notice of the sign after a photo was tweeted by the team.
Jeff Lynd offered to donate his kidney, and UPMC doctors performed the kidney transplant surgery on Nov. 9, according to the Penguins.
Two weeks later, both Sowatsky and Lynd are doing well, the Penguins reported.
Sowatsky has a 10-inch scar on her abdomen from the surgery, along with a new kidney.
But her story shows how Penguins fans stick together.
“There’s no words to really express the gratitude and the way I feel about what (Lynd) did for me because he literally saved my life,” Sowatsky said. “And the doctors, too. If you trickle it down, the Pittsburgh Penguins are the reason my life is being saved, too.” If it weren’t for (Perelman)and for me loving the Penguins...”
Lynd also credits the team’s owner and former Penguin Mario Lemieux.
“She always cries and thanks me and I always tell her to thank Mario (Lemieux). If Mario didn’t save the team then none of us would be here,” Lynd said.
Once they're all feeling 100 percent, the team has invited not only Sowatsky and Lynd to a game but their families to come to a morning skate then enjoy a game from one of the arena's suites.
Natalie Dreier and the Cox Media Group National Content Desk contributed to this report.
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