Philadelphia Eagles fan celebrates Super Bowl victory alongside his second life-saving transplant
Philadelphia Eagles fans across the region are excited for Friday's parade, and that includes one lifelong fan who's recovering from life-saving surgery.
Fred Sviben is savoring his beloved Eagles' Super Bowl victory while recovering from a second transplant at Penn Medicine.
"I can't even put into words what this team means to me," he said.
The 52-year-old postal service worker who has liver disease and other complications started and ended the football season in the hospital at Penn.
"I was on an emotional journey with them the whole way through," he said.
The day before the Eagles won their first game of the season against the Green Bay Packers in Brazil, Sviben had a liver transplant, and the day before the Super Bowl, he had a kidney transplant.
"They kept me on a nice emotional roller coaster, without a doubt," Sviben said about his team.
And he says the top of the crazy ride was Cooper DeJean's pick-six during the Super Bowl, which Sviben watched from his hospital bed.
"I scream, and then as he's running I'm cheering, I'm cheering, and I just let out a loud burst when he scores, and I have a nurse and a patient care tech come running into the room, my heart rate shot up to 125 beats," he said.
He was OK and is now recovering at home in Reading. He plans to watch the victory parade on Friday.
"I'm a blessed man to be able to receive two organs," he said, "to give me a second chance at life."
