Kidney recipient reunites with donor, throws out first pitch at Cubs game at Wrigley Field

When a Chicago Cubs fan needed a kidney, a fan on the South Side stepped up to the plate.

The two reunited for a full circle moment at the friendly confines.

At Wrigley Field, where rivalries run deep, this story proves even the biggest divide in Chicago sports couldn't stand in the way of saving a life.

"I never thought I would be standing here today," said kidney recipient Bridgett Kolls.

"When you have the chance to help someone, and you have the ability to do so, I think you have the right to do so, but also like you should," said donor Thomas Allesio.

The two are part of each other's lives now, but they didn't even know each other until seven years ago.

When Kolls was 20 years old, she was diagnosed with lupus and Stage 5 kidney disease. She was in urgent need of a transplant, but her medical team told her the process to find a donor could take years, so she took matters into her own hands.

In May 2019, she came to a Cubs game with a simple sign that read "this lil cubbie needs a kidney" and her phone number. 

It caught the attention of Allesio, who is a Chicago White Sox fan.

"I made sure I wore black," he said jokingly.

He reached out to the transplant team at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. In June of 2020, the two underwent a successful kidney transplant.

Now, seven years later, Kolls is not asking for help but celebrating how far she's come by throwing out the first pitch at Wednesday's Cubs game against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field.

The night was extra meaningful as the game also honored healthcare workers. Kolls is now a nursing assistant at Advocate Health Care, the same system that performed her lifesaving surgery.

"This is a thank you to her and everyone who did it. Because it wasn't just me, there were doctors, and nurses, and so many healthcare workers that helped her through it and helped me and everyone else," Allesio said.

As for their friendly rivalry, Kolls says she will always be a Cubs fan, but a little part of her will also be a White Sox fan.

"I should check out a Sox game. Just a little budge there, but always a Cubs fan," she said.

Kolls and Allesio are still loyal to their teams, even though they are bonded by an act bigger than baseball.