Ontario resident Carla Norris-Hutcheson never expected the kindness she’d encounter while attending the Blue Jays home opener alone. A group of young men sitting near her surprised her with a heartfelt gift: a George Springer jersey, her husband’s favourite player. It was a gesture designed to support her and her husband during his hospitalization.
“I just started crying,” Hutcheson told CTV News Toronto. “It really touched me that they did that for us. I told my husband what happened, and he felt just so blessed. He felt really wonderful that somebody took care of me while he couldn’t.”
Carla’s husband, Paul Klith, is currently in Toronto General Hospital with liver failure. She’s been visiting him from their home in Gananoque, spending long days and nights at the hospital. The Blue Jays game was a respite – Paul insisted she go to celebrate their anniversary and have some fun.
“I felt very nervous. I had never been to a game alone,” she said. “I was scared because you don’t know who you are going to sit with and maybe they wouldn’t talk to me, but everybody was so kind.”
The situation took an even more incredible turn when Blue Jays star George Springer and his team reached out on social media, offering to sign the gifted jersey. “My husband was in shock. He thought it was a joke!” Carla said. As a lifelong fan, the signed jersey is a dream come true for Paul, who’s never owned one or attended a game due to his work as a truck driver.
Laura Brady, a Toronto resident who witnessed the act of kindness at the game, shared the story online.
George Springer wants to sign her jersey. Help me find her, Jays fans? #ToTheCore #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/MYR7WA7HNo
— Laura Brady (@LauraB7) April 12, 2024
Her post went viral, eventually connecting Carla with Springer’s representatives.
Carla expressed immense gratitude for everyone’s support, particularly the young men who surprised her. “Paul, Alex, and Chris were the ones that sat beside me in the game, and they just checked on me and they made me laugh and they were just so good to me,” she said. “I just hope this will get to them so they know how much it really, really helped me and helped my husband. We’re trying to be very positive during this time and hoping for the best.”
