At the Chicago Cubs baseball team’s spring training camp, Denise Vasquez, a former U.S. Navy sailor, had one last hope in life: finding a suitable kidney donor.
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A diagnosis of end-stage renal failure left Denise on the brink of giving up. Every day was a grueling battle with medication, dialysis, and the fear of death.
Then fate arranged for her to meet Cathy Weadley — another loyal Cubs fan and volunteer at Wrigley Field. In their first conversation, Denise only shared that she needed a miracle. But Cathy did not smile, did not stay silent. She said: “Let me try to test… maybe I’m the right person.”
None of them expected that Cathy’s body — whose only hope for “harmony” from the Cubs players — would be perfect down to the last detail for Denise.
After a series of tests, the doctor confirmed: Cathy could donate a kidney, and Denise’s chances of survival would be significantly extended.
On a morning in November 2024, two women wearing Cubs jerseys walked into a Chicago hospital. On their shirts were the words:
“We are not just fans. We are family.”
The surgery was successful. Denise woke up in tears, and Cathy just smiled: “We have to watch the Cubs win a ticket to the World Series next year, right?”
In the 2025 season opener, Denise and Cathy were invited onto the field – walking hand in hand from the sidelines. The crowd of 40,000 stood up and applauded for minutes on end. Many cried. Not because of the home run, but because they witnessed true humanity overcoming all boundaries.
“You gave me more than a kidney… you gave me hope.” — Denise Vasquez
This isn’t just a medical miracle, but a reminder that fandom—belief in a team—can sometimes create lasting miracles.