'I just started crying': Blue Jays player signs jersey for man in hospital
Ontario resident Carla Norris-Hutcheson says she never expected to be gifted a Blue Jays jersey for her ailing husband when she sat alone at the team’s home opener next to a couple of kind strangers.
She said that one minute, she was chatting away with the group of young men, and the next they handed her a gift bag with a blue George Springer jersey, her husband’s favourite, saying it was a gift to help uplift him during this difficult time in hospital.
“I just started crying,” Hutcheson told CTV News Toronto on Monday. “It really touched me that they did that for us. I told my husband what happened and he felt just so blessed.”
“He felt really wonderful that somebody took care of me while he couldn’t.”
Her husband, Paul Klith, is at the Toronto General Hospital due to liver failure. Hutcheson says she been visiting him from Gananoque for the past two weeks since he was admitted.
Hutcheson said she was at the game at her husband’s insistence. She was spending long days and nights in hospital, and he wanted her to have a little bit of fun and to celebrate their anniversary.
“I felt very nervous. I had never been to a game alone,” she said. “I was scared because you don’t know who you are going to sit with and maybe they wouldn’t talk to me but everybody was so kind.”
“It’s been such a long journey, every night being in a hotel on my own and sitting in a room watching him sleep and trying to help.”
Things took an even more shocking turn, she told CTV News Toronto, when star player George Springer and his team tracked her down on social media and offered to sign the jersey.
“My husband was in shock. He thought it was a joke,” she said. “He is so excited and wishes he could go to a game, but for now he’s just watching it on TV.”
Despite being a huge Blue Jays fan, Hutcheson said Klith never had a jersey before. He’s never been to a game, she said, because he’s a truck driver for Tim Hortons and always on the road so this signed jersey will be extra special.
“We always kept saying we’re going to get to the game this summer, but it was hard for him,” Hutcheson said.
Laura Brady, Toronto resident and Blue Jays fan, told CTV News Toronto on Monday that she witnessed the whole act of kindness transpire at the home opener and shared the story on social media to inspire others.
“It was just a purely kind gesture,” Brady said. ”it was just really lovely to witness.”
She said she never expected that George Springer’s representatives would contact her and ask to be connected with Hutcheson, whose number and name she did not have. She said her post exploded on social media, going viral.
Eventually, Hutcheson was found after her friend in Gananoque saw Brady’s post and knew it was about Hutcheson.
“If my one friend had not seen it I wouldn’t have known they were searching for me,” she said.
CTV News Toronto reached out to the Toronto Blue Jays for comment but have not received a response yet.
Hutcheson said she’s very grateful for everyone who came together to show kindness to her husband and herself, especially the group of young men.
“Paul, Alex and Chris were the ones that sat beside me in the game and they just checked on me and they made me laugh and they were just so good to me,” she said. “I just hope this will get to them so they know how much it really really helped me and helped by husband.”
“We’re trying to be very positive during this time and hoping for the best.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE Police arrest 3 in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Five areas Canada's foreign interference commissioner says needs more investigation
Commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue released her interim report examining foreign election interference on Friday. Here are five elements of the issue that Hogue says she needs to further probe before she can make conclusions or recommendations.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Why your airfare may be getting more expensive
Skyrocketing airfare prices are linked to heightened competition and rising food and fuel, according to the CAA.
WATCH LIVE Funeral today for broadcasting legend and voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada' Bob Cole
A funeral is being held today for hockey broadcasting legend Bob Cole in his hometown of St. John's, N.L.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
New weight-loss drug Wegovy not a 'magic bullet,' doctor warns
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
BREAKING Foreign meddling 'did not affect' overall federal election results: inquiry report
Foreign interference by China did not affect the overall results of the 2019 and 2021 general elections won by Justin Trudeau's Liberals, a federal commission of inquiry has found.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.