Pittsburgh Pirates Triple-A outfielder Travis Swaggerty is asking fans for prayers and support with his announcement that his wife is suffering from an “extremely rare” blood disease more than a year after she was attacked by a rabid raccoon.
Swaggerty jumped to his Twitter account on Tuesday to tell fans his wife, Peyton, is heading to the Mayo Clinic to have her condition treated, Fox News reported.
“Tomorrow, my wife Peyton heads to the Mayo Clinic (with Sutton and her parents and nana) after being attacked by a rabid raccoon over a year ago and a lot of guesses and medicines have been thrown at her,” he tweeted.
“She’s now been diagnosed with an extremely rare, painful blood disease that has completely taken over her body,” Swaggerty said.
— Travis Swaggerty (@TSwaggerty_21) May 31, 2023
“It has riddled her with unresolved pain and problems and completely taken her quality of life away from her. I wanted to share this to ask for support and prayers for her, along with reminding everyone to not take anything for granted in this life, especially the little things,” the 25-year-old player wrote. “Her faith and trust in God has never wavered. Please take the time to pray for her if you feel compelled to and for the doctors to give her some comfort, and ultimately a solution.”
In a second tweet, Swaggerty added, “Regardless of how she’s feeling, she always makes sure she’s Mom first. every day she does everything in her power to make sure that Sutton has a great, fun day. she fights through everything she’s feeling to be the best mom she can be.”
The player did not say if the attack by the rabid raccoon triggered his wife’s disease or if doctors found it during her treatment for the wounds from the animal’s assault.
Swaggerty was drafted by the Pirates n 2018 and played in his first MLB game last year. But before the offseason, he was traded back to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.
The University of South Alabama grad married his wife in 2020, and the couple had one daughter together the following year.
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