Pirates Prospect Says Wife Battling Blood Disease After Raccoon Attack

A Pittsburgh Pirates prospect has revealed his wife's startling battle with a blood disease after a rabid raccoon attacked her.

Travis Swaggerty is an outfielder in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. On Wednesday, he took to Twitter to discuss his wife Peyton's battle with an "extremely rare, painful blood disease that has completely taken over her body."

"Tomorrow, my wife Peyton heads to the Mayo Clinic... after being attacked by a rabid raccoon over a year ago and a lot of guesses and medicines have been thrown at her," Swaggerty wrote.

Swaggerty did not elaborate on the circumstances of the raccoon attack. He wrote that eventually, his wife came to be diagnosed with this rare blood disease.

"It has riddled her with unresolved pain and problems and completely taken her quality of life away from her."

He wrote that he hoped that telling his wife's story would remind people to not take life for granted. Swaggerty also encouraged people to offer their prayers.

"I wanted to share this to ask for support and prayers for her, along with reminding everyone to not take anything for granted in this life, especially the little things," he said. "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."

That is some scary stuff. Let's all send our best to Peyton and hope for a full recovery.

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Swaggerty with the 10th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft. While he has played a few games with the Pirates, he has played primarily for their Triple-A affiliate Indianapolis Indians.

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