Outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Travis Swaggerty, 25, took to social media to reveal that his wife, Peyton Swaggerty, has been diagnosed with a rare blood disease after being bitten by a rabid raccoon. Swaggerty did not reveal the exact circumstances of the attack but did reveal that the incident had occurred a year ago and that his wife would be going to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, after numerous medicines had failed to help her. He stated that Peyton had been experiencing “unresolved pain and problems” that had “completely taken her quality of life away from her.” He stated he was sharing the experience to “[remind] everyone to not take anything for granted in this life.” He also asked for prayers for his wife. “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.” 

Swaggerty was brought up to the majors last June and was able to spend every day with Peyton after her attack due to the 99-day MLB lockout last year. Peyton told People magazine that the experience reminded him how important his wife and daughter are. “It gave me a perspective that life is bigger than baseball. Those two people are more important to me than anything else in the world. For me to be able to provide for them by doing this, this is why I work so hard — for those two,” he said. This is not the first health crisis the two, who wed in 2020, have experienced either. Two weeks into Travis’s Pirates career, Peyton suffered from thyroid cancer, although she is cancer free currently. Peyton shared a picture of herself to commemorate National Cancer Survivors Day, with Travis resharing the post and writing, “You’ve gotten through cancer; you can get through this too.”

Soon after revealing the diagnosis of his wife’s blood disease, Travis shared another post of both Peyton and their daughter, Sutton. “I wanted to add to this and say 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,” he wrote. Peyton, too, shared her gratitude and hoped for things to improve. “Appointments and lots of tests began today at The Mayo Clinic!” she wrote. “I’m in a lot of pain, but I am so hopeful the doctors here (along with God) will get my disease into remission. THANK YOU for all the love & prayers. My family & I deeply appreciate it more than you know…”