This story was excerpted from Tim Stebbins' Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CLEVELAND -- The Guardians’ flight had just landed in Houston the night of July 6, when Kyle Manzardo turned his phone back on and was greeted by a flurry of missed phone calls. Members of his family had been trying to connect with him to share some urgent news.
Manzardo’s mother, Windy -- who had been dealing with a major heart complication since 2021 -- was set to undergo long-awaited heart transplant surgery. A donor had been found.
“I missed a bunch of calls, and I called back, and they said that it was probably happening,” Manzardo said. “A little bit later, they said that it was happening. … My mind kind of went the other direction [initially], but [I was] very happy and grateful that everything worked out the way it was supposed to.”
Windy, a cardiac nurse, underwent the transplant surgery on July 8 at Providence Medical Center in Spokane, Wash. She is set to go home to continue her recovery.
“I know she’s excited,” Manzardo said. “She’s just tired, resting, recovering -- feeling great.”
Windy, 51, began to have heart complications in 2021 and was ultimately diagnosed with cardiac sarcoidosis. According to the Cleveland Clinic, it is “a rare disease in which your body’s immune response to inflammation makes scars. These harm your heart, causing abnormal heart rhythms. Scars can get in the way of heartbeat signals, keeping them from getting where they need to go.”
Manzardo recalled a moment when Windy had a pacer/defib combo that “started popping off,” and she was airlifted from the family’s home in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to the hospital in Spokane. She was then put on the transplant list in 2022.
“It was scary,” Manzardo said of the past few years. “You just deal with it. Not really anything that can be done about it. Just deal with it as best you can.”
After the Guardians landed in Houston nearly two weeks ago, Manzardo quickly connected with his dad, Paul -- who told him that Windy’s surgery was scheduled for the next day. Manzardo then spoke with Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, who encouraged him to join his family.
Manzardo left the team hotel around 4:30 a.m. on July 7 to catch a flight out of Houston. Cleveland later placed the 25-year-old on the family medical emergency list before its series opener vs. the Astros.
Manzardo called the time between leaving the Guardians’ hotel and arriving at the hospital in Spokane “surreal” and “pretty anxious” for him. He arrived in time to be able to connect with Windy before her surgery the following morning.
With Windy now recovering, the entire family feels a sense of gratitude. Manzardo rejoined the Guardians on July 11 in Chicago, and he then returned to be with his family during the All-Star break.
“[My dad] was super excited. He’s been over the moon about it,” Manzardo said. “He’s in the same place we all are -- just grateful and happy.”
Manzardo was asked about the past few years, and coming up as a baseball player while dealing with something much more important off the field.
“I guess now that it's over,” Manzardo said, “I’ve kind of realized how heavy that was to just be carrying it around with you for a couple of years now. Just grateful it’s hopefully done with now.”