The Wake Forest baseball coach Tom Walter who has donated a kidney to a freshman player, has also given the gift of inspiration to players, and to others hearing about his incredible, selfless act.
When Walter learned his outfielder, Kevin Jordan, suffers from a disease that can lead to kidney failure, he stepped up to offer his own when there was no match in Jordan's family.
How many times have you heard coaches say their team is their family? Walter not only says this, but takes it to heart making the ultimate sacrifice, most would only give for blood relative, if at all.
Walter feels Jordan was courageous having decided to enroll at Wake Forest despite his illness, not knowing anyone on campus, and becoming a sick teenager away from home having to be in his room on dialysis.
Imagine the scene when the coach walked into the locker room one day to inform his players that he was about to donate a kidney to Jordan, a 19th-round draft pick of the New York Yankees last June. The team broke out into applause, astonished the man who tells them they are a family, shows them beyond words.
"I wanted to help this young man," Walter, 42, said. "When we recruit our guys, we talk about family and making sacrifices for one another. It's something we take very seriously.
The lesson of compassion and selfless giving Walter has shown Jordan and the team, is something they will never forget not only playing baseball, but in the game of life.
