CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It wasn't long ago that former Carolina Panther Greg Olsen shared the news that his son, TJ, would need a new heart. Ten days later, Olsen shared the news his family needed to hear: a donor match had been found. The same day they got the news, TJ went into surgery and began the road to recovery. Olsen then allowed his son to take to Twitter to thank people for their prayers and positive thoughts.
Now, Olsen is sharing yet another heartwarming moment: the moments TJ got to tell his brother and sister he was getting a new heart.
Olsen's tweet Thursday morning was a throwback, showing TJ discuss how he needed a new heart with his siblings. They both listened as he explained the situation, and then came the announcement from TJ: "Today, this morning, they found one".
Immediately, the Olsen siblings were elated.
Tate, TJ's older brother, and Talbot, his twin sister, raised their arms and got up from their seats to gently hug him. TJ then informs the pair the transplant was scheduled for the next day.
The sharing of the video to the former tight end's Twitter page comes the same day Atrium Health Levine Children's Hospital plans to discuss their own successes with children's heart transplants. The hospital, which is where TJ underwent surgery, has a panel set for a Facebook Live discussion at 2:30 p.m. to discuss how the heart transplant process works.
The hospital says to date, the cardiology and heart surgery teams have performed 110 pediatric heart transplants, with three such transplants happening in just two days last week; 10 transplants took place since the start of 2021. The hospital notes it has the only pediatric heart transplant program in the Charlotte region and touts its program as among the leaders in survival rates for the procedure.
