Sports rivalries were put aside for one day as a Milwaukee Brewers fan met a family of Chicago Cubs supporters that is very close to his heart, in more ways that one.
Tom Schroeder, 62, of Cedarburg, Wisconsin, was in heart failure for four years after a virus left him with irreparable damage.
He received a life-saving heart transplant in August 2018 and, three months later, wrote a letter to the family of his donor, 32-year-old Josh Holland.
Holland’s mother, Melanie Cook, wrote back a month later, telling him all about who Holland was and the sorts of activities he’d loved.
Schroeder, who is a Brewers fan, learned from the letter that Holland and his family are fans of the Chicago Cubs – his beloved team’s division rivals.
But that gave him an idea for the perfect way to bring them together: Shroeder asked if Cook and her family would be willing to meet at a baseball game, and she agreed.
Cameras rolled as Schroeder and Cook met in the stands on September 7 and shared hugs and tears.
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Tom Schroeder, 62, of Cedarburg, Wisconsin, met the family of his heart donor, Joshua Holland, for the first time at Milwaukee Brewers-Chicago Cubs game on September 7. Pictured: Schroeder hugs Holland’s mom, Melanie Cook
Schroeder went into heart failure in 2015 after a virus attacked his heart and left it with irreparable damage. Pictured: Schroeder, left, with Holland’s niece, Jerzie Wilkerson, at the game
He was admitted into a hospital in June 2018 and bumped to the top of the transplant list. Pictured: Schroeder in the hospital, left, with his wife, one month before his transplant
Schroeder said that his heart troubles began in August 2015 when he woke up in the middle of the night feeling short of breath.
‘I just propped up a pillow, went back to sleep and went to work the next day,’ he told DailyMail.com.
Although Schroeder wasn’t too worried, he decided to pay a visit to the doctor the next day after work.
‘The doctor made me go to the hospital and they told me my left ventricle (lower chamber) was expanded a lot and I was in heart failure,’ he said.
The then-58-year-old was in disbelief. He didn’t smoke and he ate a relatively healthy diet.
He went to another hospital, where doctors confirmed the diagnosis.
‘I [didn’t understand because I] was feeling well, doing good,’ Schroeder said. ‘The floor drops out from under you when you hear that. You don’t know what to expect.’
Doctors told him that it was caused by a virus, but the virus itself hasn’t been identified, even in his medical records.
Slowly, Schroeder’s condition worsened until, last year, he was admitted to Aurora St Luke’s Medical Center hospital to have a balloon pump inserted.
The balloon pump is a mechanical device that helps the heart pump more blood throughout the body.
It bumped to Schroeder to the top of the transplant list.
‘I was in the hospital for 50 days and I remember the nurse came crying into room one day saying: “We got you a heart”,’ he said.
‘I was anxious to get over it with and elated things were going to happen.’
The heart belonged to 32-year-old Joshua (Josh) Holland.
A match for Schroeder was found in August 2018 after the death of Holland (pictured), 32, of Streator, Illinois
Holland was described by his friends and family as jokester, generous and a great hugger
Holland’s mother, Melanie Perry Cook, described him as generous, a great hugger with a mischievous sense of humor – and a dark side.
‘He was a joker, but he was also hiding a lot of demons,’ she told DailyMail.com.
‘He had this way about him, something sarcastic would come out of his mouth and he would raise his eyebrow.
The floor drops out from under you when you hear [you’re in heart failure.] You don’t know what to expect.
Tom Schroeder, heart transplant recipient
‘He was just Josh. I miss so many things about him; the list is endless.’
Holland was a father to a one-year-old girl named Rhian and was like a father to his 17-year-old niece Jerzie Wilkerson after his brother, Ryan, died when he was accidentally hit by a train.
‘When I was younger, every time I visited home, I would always ask where my Uncle Josh is,’ Wilkerson told DailyMail.com.
‘After my dad passed away, we got really close. He helped to raise me.’
Holland hanged himself in August 2018, and he was a registered organ donor.
Cook admits that she initially fought against her son’s decision to be an organ donor when he received his driver’s license.
However, after he passed, she wanted something positive to come from his death.
‘We knew that what made Josh Josh, wasn’t anymore. All that was left was his body,’ she said.
‘As a family we decided something positive coming from his suicide would be good for my granddaughters.
‘They would see his spirit and generous heart. Others could go on when he felt he couldn’t anymore.’
His lungs, liver, right kidney, left kidney and heart went to recipients on transplant lists, saving five people’s lives, four of whom are doing well.
Three months after Schroeder’s transplant, he wrote Cook a letter and she wrote back not long after. Pictured: Schroeder, right, with wife, one month before the transplant
Schroeder learned from the letter that Holland was a Cubs fan, which is how he got the idea to meet at a baseball game. Pictured: Schroeder with a gift from Holland’s mother
Schroeder said his heart transplant surgery took about four-and-half-to-five hours and when he woke up he felt rejuvenated.
‘I knew I was in the right place,’ he said. ‘I was in a great spot and I had great confidence.’
It didn’t take long for him to decide he wanted to reach out to Holland’s family and on the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend he wrote a letter and dropped it off with the transplant coordinator to send to Cook.
‘I wanted to reach and out and express my gratitude,’ he said. ‘I reached out and at first I had no response.’
Cook remembers receiving the letter and being overcome with emotion.
‘I started bawling and just couldn’t speak,’ she said. ‘There was no doubt in my mind that I would write him back.’
The opening line of the letter that she sent back one month later read: ‘I want to tell you about your heart’s first journey.’
Cook wrote about when Holland was born, the relationship with his brother, the highlights of his life, and his likes and dislikes.
In that letter, Schroeder also learned that Holland was a Chicago Cubs fan.
Schroeder himself is a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers – a rival team – and thought a great way for the two families to meet would be at a game.
After several phone calls, the meeting was set up by Advocate Aurora Health.
The two families said they plan to stay in touch and Wilkerson invited Schroeder to even meet Holland’s friends. Pictured, from left to right: Holland’s mom Cook, Schroeder, Holland’s niece Wilkerson and Schroeder’s mother at the baseball game
They say they’re raising awareness about both organ donation and suicide prevention. Pictured: Schroeder, left, and Holland’s niece Wilkerson, right, at the baseball game
Schroeder said that when he saw Holland’s mother, he immediately reached out and hugged her.
‘We had a long hug and would have held her longer if weren’t for all the cameras,’ he said.
Someone always needs you tomorrow. You may feel the world upon your shoulders today, but there is a way to work through it. We pray no one ever feels such despair that they think ending their life is the answer.
Melanie Cook, heart donor’s mother
Cook said she was ‘overwhelmed’ by the press surrounding the two families but was very happy to have met Schroeder.
‘Tom is a very good man and I’m glad that he received Josh’s heart and that he’s doing well with it,’ she said.
When it came time to throw the opening pitch, Schroeder and Holland’s niece, Wilkerson, each threw a ball from the pitcher’s mound.
‘I was really teary-eyed the whole time and I didn’t throw the best pitch, so I blame it it on that,’ Wilkerson joked.
The two families said they plan to stay in touch and Wilkerson invited Schroeder to even meet Holland’s friends
The families say they’re not just raising awareness about organ donation but also suicide prevention as well.
‘Someone always needs you tomorrow,’ Cook said.
‘You may feel the world upon your shoulders today, but there is a way to work through it. We pray no one ever feels such despair that they think ending their life is the answer.’
For confidential help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or click here.
For confidential support on suicide matters in the UK, call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here.
For confidential support in Australia, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or click here.