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Bone marrow donor Szczur feels the gratitude
- Updated: November 23, 2016
CHICAGO — In Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, Matt Szczur loaned Anthony Rizzo one of his bats, and the first baseman used it to hit a home run in the fifth inning, helping propel the Cubs to a 10-2 victory over the Dodgers. After the game, Szczur was asked about the bat, and once the media throng departed, a reporter approached the outfielder to say thank you.
Szczur had helped save the life of the man’s wife.
“I’m not sure who he was,” Szczur said. “The media by my locker was outrageous, and then he came up to me afterward, and said to me, ‘Hey, you might not know this, but there’s a lot of people who appreciate what you’ve done.’ I’m thinking, ‘Is this about the bat?’ He said, ‘It’s about donating bone marrow.'”
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Thanksgiving is a perfect time to give thanks to people like Szczur. Here’s some background: When he was 20 years old and a two-sport star at Villanova, Szczur’s football coach, Andy Talley, encouraged players to get involved in the “Be The Match” bone marrow donor program. Szczur was the first player from ‘Nova who was a match, and he provided bone marrow for a 15-month-old Ukranian girl, Anastasia Olkhovsky, who was battling Leukemia. Szczur also was a standout baseball player at Villanova, and he risked his career by having the procedure …
