Ex-Carolina Panthers TE Greg Olsen’s 8-year old son returned home less than fourteen days after having a successful heart transplant.
When TJ was leaving Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina Wednesday, he kept the tradition of ringing the bell. The bell ringing symbolizes the release of patients.
It meant a little more than tradition to TJ. He was fulfilling a promise he had made to his parents. Olsen shared the emotional moment on Instagram.
This was a very special event for the Olsen family. Olsen stated ever since TJ was admitted into the hospital, he would talk about ‘ringing the bell’. It was a sign of hope and good thing to come.
Olsen went on to praise his son, who was born with a rare condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which means he was born with half a heart. He complimented his son about his great attitude throughout his health issues and stating TJ “has been an inspiration to us all.”
“Never did he feel sorry for himself or play the victim,” Olsen explained. “All he did was talk about what the future held and the things he looked forward to doing.”
Olsen thanked everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and well wishes. He stated, “Today we ‘rang the bell’, and for the first time our family whole again.”
