Travis Swaggerty revealed Wednesday that his wife, Peyton, is dealing with a rare blood disease after a raccoon attack.
The minor leaguer — the No. 10-overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft as a big-hitting outfielder — posted a statement on social media asking for prayers and support from fans as Peyton undergoes treatment.
“Tomorrow, my wife Peyton heads to the Mayo Clinic (with [daughter] Sutton and her parents and nana),” Travis wrote. “After being attacked by a rabbit raccoon over a year ago and a lot of guesses and medicines have been thrown at her. She’s now been diagnosed with an extremely rare, painful blood disease that has completely taken over her body. It has riddled her with unresolved pain and problems and completely taken her quality of life from her.
“I wanted to share this and ask for support and prayers, along with reminding everyone to not take anything for granted in this life, especially the little things.”
Travis added that none of Peyton’s ordeal can stop her from taking care of Sutton.
“Regardless of how she’s feeling, she always makes sure she’s Mom first,” he wrote. “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.”
It’s not the first health scare of the couple.
Peyton underwent surgery shortly after Travis was drafted due to stage 2 thyroid cancer.
The couple, who met at the University of South Alabama, where Travis became a top MLB prospect, got engaged as his professional career began.
“His goal was always to make it to the majors and play baseball professionally,” Petyon told Pittsburgh Magazine in March. “So a lot of our date nights were just me feeding the pitching machines and him hitting in the cages.”
Travis, 25, is currently working his way back up the Pirates’ minor league system with the hopes of finally sticking in the majors/
He has spent time on the injured list this season with Triple-A Indianapolis amid a season that could determine his future with the Pirates.
