He’s served as an executive for the New York Mets and the Baltimore Orioles, but Jim Duquette orchestrated the play of his life when he donated his kidney to his 10-year-old daughter Monday.
Since 2004, Duquette’s daughter Lindsey has been battling the rare and fatal Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a disease that has wreaked havoc on her kidneys, the Baltimore Sun reports.
The girl who just wants to have sleepovers with friends and go to school, has spent her childhood going in and out of hospitals, taking steroids that made her body swell and seeing her growth delay because her bones have become so brittle.
"I just want to be a normal kid," Lindsey told the New York Daily News.
See photos of Duquette spending time with his daughter before surgery. Story continues below.
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Former Orioles, Mets Exec Donates Kidney To Daughter
As Lindsey’s condition worsened, Duquette was released from his position at the Mets in 2006, a blow he manages to view as a blessing.
"I almost remember it in some ways as a relief," Duquette told the Baltimore Sun. "At times I didn't know how the heck I was going to do both jobs, helping and assisting with Lindsey's health and doing the job with the Mets."
After Lindsey went into end-stage renal failure last year, she had both kidneys removed, and spent 14 hours a day on dialysis, according to the Daily News.
The family prayed for a miracle and it came in March when Duquette learned that he could donate a kidney to Lindsey.
"We actually had a match and it was me," he told the Baltimore Sun.
Duquette donated his kidney, which Lindsey told the Daily News she has named “Raven” on Monday. While the family is hoping for the best, there is up to a 50 percent chance that her disease may attack her new organ, the news outlet reports.
Just as soon as Duquette recovers from surgery, he's planning on picking up his fight for his daughter where he left off.
The 46-year-old dad hopes to lead a walk and fundraiser for the NephCure Foundation, the only organization committed exclusively to supporting research for Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and Nephrotic Syndrome
"This has been a tough road so we're realistic," Duquette told the Baltimore Sun. "But we're hoping this will finally be the time life gets better for our little girl."
Feeling inspired? Learn how you can get involved with the NephCure Foundation here.