Eight-year-old TJ’s heart “is reaching its end,” said his father, former NFL player turned sports analyst Greg Olsen.
In a series of tweets posted Monday, the retired Carolina Panthers tight end revealed his son — who has undergone four surgeries after being born in 2012 with a congenital heart defect — is struggling.
Olsen said he and his family are “working through the process to determine our next steps, which ultimately could lead to a heart transplant.”
In his tweets, Olsen thanked his supporters for their prayers, describing his young son as “a fighter since birth.”
“We are going to get through this as a family and be better off as a result of this experience,” the athlete tweeted.
Despite his myriad health setbacks, TJ has lived a relatively normal life. He served as a bat boy for his older brother Tate’s Little League team, which Olsen coached, according to ESPN.
“I learned that the simplest things made me the happiest,” Olsen said of coaching the team. “On a Friday night, when a lot of people wanted to do a million different things, I was taking the boys to practice, then meeting my wife and daughter and the other families for pizza down the street, sitting there and hanging out with the other families and my kids and wife.”
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“We didn’t need to do anything fancy or go on fancy trips,” he added. “It was really a unique experience. I really enjoyed it.”
People all across social media sent messages of support to the Olsens.
The Rev. Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, took to Twitter to encourage his followers to pray for Olsen and TJ.
Others shared their support, too.
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