Man with new kidney, his donor to throw out 1st pitch at Brewers game

MILWAUKEE -- A man who wore a T-shirt to a Milwaukee Brewers game in an effort to find a new kidney, will throw out the first pitch alongside his donor and transplant surgeons on Sunday, April 5. It's a "boyhood dream come true" for Lenny Zwieg.

FOX6 News shared Lenny's story back in October 2018, when he attended a Brewers game sporting shirts that read "Share Your Spare." The shirt was in an effort to help Lenny find a kidney donor.

Lenny, a father of three, was diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy in 2004 a result of contracting Dengue Fever on a business trip to Africa. He shared the photo on the Facebook page Lenny Zwieg Needs a Kidney, and it went viral.

According to the Milwaukee Brewers, a Wausau-area woman and 2nd grade teacher, Emily Nowak, saw the photo and got tested to see if she was a match -- and she was!

Zwieg was set for a transplant on Nov. 2, 2018.

The Brewers, inspired by the story, have given the pair -- and their transplant surgeons -- a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs game is set for 1:10 p.m. Lenny and Emily will throw out the first pitches to the pair's transplant surgeons, Dr. Sahajpal and Dr. Leonovicz. Fans attending Brewers vs. Cubs game will also have the chance to register as organ donors right in Miller Park's concourse through Versiti (formerly the Blood Center of Wisconsin).