TJ Olsen, the 8-year-old son of former NFL tight end Greg Olsen, is on the "road to recovery" after receiving a heart transplant.
Olsen tweeted Friday afternoon that his son had been transferred to the ICU after undergoing surgery this morning.
"We won't be able to see him for a few more hours but his doctors are very happy with the surgery," Olsen wrote. "TJ will be sedated for a few days but his road to recovery has begun."
TJ, Olsen's youngest son, was born with a congenital heart defect in 2012. He's undergone three open-heart surgeries and lived with a modified vascular organ for the past eight years.
Earlier Friday, Olsen announced that his son had matched with a donor. Olsen referred to his son as a "fighter since birth" in announcing last month that TJ's modified heart was "reaching its end" and would likely need a transplant.
The Carolinas, where Olsen played nine of his 14 year NFL career, rallied around young TJ. Olsen's foundation helped create the HEARTest Yard program with the Atrium Health's Levine Children's Hospital in North Carolina, raising money and providing programmatic support for children with congenital heart diseases.
