Receptions for Research: The Greg Olsen Foundation and Showmars Restaurants join forces for the second annual 5K to benefit families of babies with congenital heart disease born at Levine Children’s Hospital.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to once again partner with Showmars to support a cause that we both truly believe in,” Greg Olsen, founder of Receptions for Research, said. “Together we are making a significant impact on families in our community.”
The race is scheduled for Saturday, June 17 beginning at 8 a.m. Pre-race activities kick off at CMC Myers Park and from there, Greg Olsen and his family will lead a parade to the race start line on Cumberland Avenue.
The race ends on South Kings Drive at Levine Children’s Hospital with a post-race celebration, including a children’s fun run, refreshments and family entertainment.
The race costs $30 per participant, and the proceeds will support patients at Levine Children’s Hospital affected by a congenital heart defects.
For more details and to register, click here.
About The HEARTest Yard Program
The HEARTest Yard is a program under the Receptions for Research: The Greg Olsen Foundation established in collaboration with Levine Children’s Hospital that provides no-charge medical support services to the families of babies born with congenital heart disease. Services include in-home, private nursing care, physical and speech therapy, and other benefits that serve as a complimentary extension of traditional hospital care. The program provides these services in an effort to reduce the mortality rate, increase the life expectancy and improve the quality of life for children born with heart disease.
Media Contact: Kristen McCullough at KMcCullough@R4R.org.
Meet Wyatt. He’s a crawling, mischievous little guy who’s hitting all of his growth and wellness milestones. A few short months ago, his future appeared to be everything but on track. Born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, a life-threatening congenital heart defect, Wyatt’s life and his family’s future were scary and uncertain.
After two successful open-heart surgeries, Wyatt’s mom Katherine Church said going home “to nothing” after around-the- clock medical care seemed “daunting.” Enter The HEARTest Yard, a program under Receptions for Research: The Greg Olsen Foundation.
“The HEARTest Yard made a world of difference for us,” Church said, explaining the in-home nurses who cared for Wyatt after he was released from the hospital. “Knowing we had someone keeping an extra eye on him was reassuring.”
The extra hands also afforded Wyatt’s parents the ability to spend quality time with big sister Carson. “Some days I could take her to the pool, the playground, the museum,” Church said, noting that 4-year-old Carson had been staying with relatives for a month while Wyatt was receiving treatment at Levine Children’s Hospital.
“The program helped us get back to a family of four,” Church said.
Wyatt is one of many babies treated at Levine Children’s Hospital who received the added layer of medical attention from The HEARTest Yard, which has been attributed to providing patients with not only a better life expectancy, but also a greater quality of life.
Macie Cantadore is another recipient of The HEARTest Yard benefit. Macie is a 16-month-old girl who received in-home nursing care through The HEARTest Yard fund after two open- heart surgeries.
“We were in the ICU after Macie’s first surgery, and I remember getting teary-eyed while thinking, ‘Am I going to know what to do when we get home? She’s so fragile. And what about my two young sons?'” Macie’s mom, Aimee Cantadore, recalls.
For most families in this situation, the post-hospital, in-home nursing care is priceless, but unaffordable. The HEARTest Yard provides this care at no cost to the family, hospital, medical practioners or insurance provider.
“It would have been so overwhelming without those nurses,” Cantadore said. “Financially, we would not have been able to hire them. Just knowing they were coming gave us peace of mind.”
The medical staff at Levine Children’s Hospital acknowledges the significant benefit of The HEARTest Yard program, which since its inception has funded $1.7 million to the program benefiting pediatric cardiovascular patients at the hospital.
“This program helps to bridge the gap between hospitalizations for these kids to when they are home with their families,” said Dr. Paul Kirshbom, chief of pediatric cardiovascular surgery at Levine Children’s Hospital.
“The home-health nursing that the program provides can be the difference between a happy outcome and a sad one, which is an incredible gift to the children in our area.”
Greg Olsen, the charity’s founder and brainchild behind the fund, said, “While we’re extremely proud of the large dollar contribution we’ve made to the hospital, we’re chiefly inspired by the individual lives impacted, in which the program undoubtedly provides a better quality of life for heart babies and their families.”
Olsen’s foundation, Reception for Research: The Greg Olsen Foundation, contributes more than 98 cents of every dollar to the cause, operating on an extremely minimal overhead in order to further the mission to the maximum extent possible.
About The HEARTest Yard Program
The HEARTest Yard is a program under the Receptions for Research: The Greg Olsen Foundation established in collaboration with Levine Children’s Hospital that provides no-charge medical support services to the families of babies born with congenital heart disease. Services include in-home, private nursing care, physical and speech therapy, and other benefits that serve as a complimentary extension of traditional hospital care. The program provides these services in an effort to reduce the mortality rate, increase the life expectancy and improve the quality of life for children born with heart disease.
Media Contact: Kristen McCullough at KMcCullough@R4R.org.
CHARLOTTE – Greg Olsen’s good deeds continued on Friday night, as he and his mother teamed up to raise more than $100,000 for local breast cancer research.
The Panthers tight end, and his mother Susan, helped to host the first annual Speak PINK event at the Ritz Carlton in Uptown.
Susan is a 17-year breast cancer survivor.
The event drew over 250 people, and was hosted by Carolinas HealthCare Foundation, and sponsored by Charlotte Radiology.
The money will go towards local breast cancer programs and to research at Levine Cancer Institute.
There’s a reason my mom is still here 17 years later,” Greg Olsen added. “There’s a reason there are survivors scattered throughout this room. That hasn’t always been the case. That’s because of advances made by doctors and researchers and philanthropists who have given of their time, energy, and resources. These events are what spearhead these doctors for doing incredible things.”
For more information about Speak PINK, visit www.givecarolinas.org/speakpink
Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen and his mother teamed up this weekend to raise $100,000 for breast cancer research. The pair hosted the first annual Speak PINK event at the Ritz Carlton in Charlotte.
The event drew 250 people and was hosted by Carolinas HealthCare Foundation. The presence of Olsen’s mother is especially awesome. She’s a 17-year survivor of breast cancer herself.
“There’s a reason my mom is still here 17 years later,” the tight end said, via WCNC in Charlotte. “There’s a reason there are survivors scattered throughout this room. That hasn’t always been the case. That’s because of advances made by doctors and researchers and philanthropists who have given of their time, energy, and resources. These events are what spearhead these doctors for doing incredible things.”
Major props to Olsen and his mother here. It seems like this was a smashing success.
#Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen and his mother, Susan, helped raise over $100,000 for breast cancer research Friday night at an event hosted by Carolinas HealthCare Foundation.
According to WCNC, Olsen’s mother is a 17-year survivor of breast cancer.
Olsen spoke at the event and discussed the importance of fundraisers in contributing to developments in cancer treatment: “There’s a reason there are survivors scattered throughout this room. That hasn’t always been the case. That’s because of advances made by doctors and researchers and philanthropists who have given of their time, energy, and resources. These events are what spearhead these doctors for doing incredible things.”
The 32-year-old Olsen is set to enter his 11th NFL season and his seventh with the Panthers. He has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of the past three campaigns.
Friday’s endeavor was far from Olsen’s only contribution to helping fund cancer research, as he founded Receptions for Research: The Greg Olsen Foundation in 2009.
CHARLOTTE, NC — On Monday, United Way of Central Carolinas presented Panthers TE Greg Olsen and the Greg Olsen Foundation $125,000 as part of his Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year finalist honors.
As part of the honors, Olsen earned $250,000 in charitable funds, which included $125,000 for Receptions for Research: The Greg Olsen Foundation, and $125,000 to expand United Way’s Character Playbook initiative with the Carolina Panthers.
This portion of the award was presented during Olsen’s charity golf tournament benefiting the HEARTest Yard. The program supports families of babies affected by congenital heart disease. Receptions for Research’s other program, Receiving Hope, helps those battling cancer.
“Greg and Kara Olsen’s selflessness to turn their son’s heart defect and his mother’s breast cancer into an opportunity to help countless other families speaks to their remarkable character,” said United Way of Central Carolinas executive director Sean Garrett. “Greg is an incredible ambassador for the Carolina Panthers and our community as a whole, so we’re proud that United Way’s national partnership with the NFL could help expand his foundation’s work here locally.”
The other $125,000 portion of the award will got to help local expansion of Character Playbook. This program is a national partnership between the NFL Foundation and United Way that focuses on youth character development and healthy relationships during students’ critical middle school years.
The $250,000 in Walter Payton Man of the Year funds are provided by the NFL Foundation, Nationwide, and United Way Worldwide.
The United Way gave $125,000 to Carolina Panther Greg Olsen’s foundation this week, a result of the tight end being a Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year finalist this year.
Olsen’s honor brought a total $250,000 in charitable funds to Charlotte. The half that was given to Olsen on Monday at his charity golf tournament goes to Receptions for Research: The Greg Olsen Foundation. The other half of the award will be used to expand United Way’s Character Playbook initiative with the Panthers.
Sean Garrett, United Way of Central Carolinas executive director, presented Olsen with Receptions for Research’s portion of the award at the golf tournament. The tournament benefited the HEARTest Yard, which supports families of babies affected by congenital heart disease. Receptions for Research’s other program, Receiving Hope, helps those battling cancer.
“Greg and Kara Olsen’s selflessness to turn their son’s heart defect and his mother’s breast cancer into an opportunity to help countless other families speaks to their remarkable character,” Garrett said in a statement. “Greg is an incredible ambassador for the Carolina Panthers and our community as a whole, so we’re proud that United Way’s national partnership with the NFL could help expand his foundation’s work here locally.”
The $250,000 in Walter Payton Man of the Year funds are courtesy of the NFL Foundation, Nationwide and United Way Worldwide.
The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year program is the only NFL award that recognizes a player for his community service and his excellence on the field. Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis won the honor two years earlier.
Joe Marusak: 704-358-5067, @jmarusak
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tears began to flow as Aimee Cantadore recalled the fear felt when nurses explained what she and her husband had to do at home for their newborn daughter to survive.
They continued when she remembered being told Macie Joy qualified for 280 hours of in-home nurse care through the The HEARTest Yard Foundation, established by Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen through Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte.
“He’s really kept our daughter alive by having help here,” Cantadore said.
A year ago Cantadore hadn’t heard of Olsen, who was preparing for Super Bowl 50 when Macie was born with half a heart. She wasn’t aware of his foundation, what congenital heart defect was or that Olsen had been through the same thing with his son T.J.
She still hasn’t met the three-time Pro Bowl selection, one of three finalists for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award that will be announced Saturday night at NFL Honors in Houston.
But she knows without Olsen, the past year would have been unmanageable.
“It makes me cry just thinking about it,” Cantadore said. “Having a nurse there was lifesaving. There is no way I could have handled caring for her and also be able to care for my other two [children] and continue daily things such as groceries and laundry.
“It was just a huge blessing.”
Olsen knows
In 2012, Olsen’s wife Kara gave birth to twins, son T.J. and daughter Talbot. T.J. was born with half a heart, a congenital heart defect known as hypoplastic left heart syndrome. They experienced the same fear Cantatore did as doctors and nurses explained how T.J. would need four surgeries — three open heart procedures and the installation of a pacemaker.
They felt their life was spinning out of control when told about the in-home care needed to keep T.J. alive after he spent about 40 days in intensive care.
Olsen’s biggest initial fear was he would mix the formula incorrectly and cause T.J. to die.
Within 24 hours of going home with T.J., the couple realized they needed in-home help. That was the genesis for The HEARTest Yard, a spinoff of Olsen’s foundation that was established in 2009 to raise money for breast cancer research.
“We kind of looked at each other and said, ‘This is way more than we anticipated. This is a full-time job,’ ” said Olsen, who is in Houston where the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots are preparing for Sunday’s Super Bowl LI.
“These were needs that not only were critical to his day-to-day, but critical to his development, preparing to go back into surgery.”
Fortunately for the Olsens, they could afford the care. Since 2013, their foundation has helped 47 families that could not.
Luann and Brian Register, whose son Brantley was born with HLHS in 2014, said they potentially could have lost their home had it not been for Olsen’s program.
Aimee’s husband, Frank, knows for sure he couldn’t have afforded the additional $20,000 to $25,000 in-home nursing cost on top of the other hospital bills.
“The first time [Olsen] met with a lot of us in the hospital as a group, he wanted to give these kids and these families the world, anything that he possibly could. We were actually the ones that said, ‘Slow down. We can’t do all that.'”
Kari Crawford-Plant, a pediatric nurse practitioner at Levine Children’s Hospital
He didn’t stop short of saying it was lifesaving for his daughter.
“I think that’s why they probably started the foundation,” Frank said. “They found out how difficult it is. Having that for my wife and me, it was phenomenal.”
Tears to advocate
Kari Crawford-Plant, a pediatric nurse practitioner at Levine Children’s Hospital, first met the Olsens in 2012 right after T.J.’s diagnosis.
“It wasn’t the best meeting because they were both sobbing,” she said. “I just introduced myself, told them they would get through it and that we would [tour the facility] another day when they collected themselves.
“He shook my hand and shut the door, and the next time I saw them was when they had twins.”
Crawford-Plant has watched Olsen grow from a father in disarray to a nationwide advocate for families affected by congenital heart defect.
“The one thing I have learned about Greg is he’s a big visionary,” said Crawford-Plant, who has become the go-to person at Levine for HEARTest Yard families. “The first time he met with a lot of us in the hospital as a group, he wanted to give these kids and these families the world, anything that he possibly could.
“We were actually the ones that said, ‘Slow down. We can’t do all that.’ ”
Slowing down isn’t Olsen’s style. On the field this season, he became the first tight end in NFL history to have 1,000 yards receiving for three consecutive years.
Off the field, between his HEARTest Yard campaign and Receptions for Research campaign — founded for breast cancer research because Olsen’s mother was diagnosed with that while he was in high school — the foundation has raised well over a $1.25 million.
The winner of the Walter Payton Award, which Carolina linebacker Thomas Davis won in 2014, will receive a $500,000 donation to the charity of his choice and another $500,000 in his name to be donated to the NFL’s Character Playbook.
Olsen’s foundation received a $25,000 donation from Nationwide recently when he won a social media competition among the 32 Walter Payton Award nominees.
Among those who pushed him over the top on Twitter were actors Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and William Shatner, as well as NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“He has a lot of popular celebrity connections that always help,” Crawford-Plant said. ”
[Actor] Vince Vaughn came to a hospital fundraiser. All of those things help this on a national level, not just a local level, which is important for kids with congenital heart disease.”
Game-changer
Olsen recently ran into a child at Levine whom he didn’t know had the same heart defect as T.J.
“They were just playing in the hallway,” Crawford-Plant said. “He turned and asked his grandmother, ‘What does he have?’ She told him. I could see that look on his face when he realized it was the same thing.
“It’s a game changer, and we witnessed that firsthand. It’s one of those things that is hard to imagine until you find yourself in that situation.”
Greg Olsen
“T.J. was standing there beside the child and they hugged and compared scars. I’m sure they have a lifetime bond there. It was sweet to watch.”
T.J. is 4 1/2 years old now and doing well, but even with an in-home nurse there were tough days. There were times when Olsen would leave in the middle of practice and rush home or to the hospital because of an emergency situation.
Those are things he’s able to share with other families.
“The biggest message we try telling them is the day to day, you’re going to have some bad days and you’re going to have some good days, and neither one of them is a sign of how it’s going to be forever,” Olsen said.
“Just take it as it comes, don’t get too far ahead of yourself and try to map out the next week, month, year, because it’s hard enough in the beginning to map out what the next 12 hours are going to be like.”
That’s why Olsen is so passionate about the HEARTest Yard. He only has to walk down the hall to T.J.’s room to understand what others are experiencing.
“It’s a game-changer, and we witnessed that firsthand,” he said. “It’s one of those things that is hard to imagine until you find yourself in that situation.”
Starstruck to dad
Frank Cantadore was coaching a high school basketball game at Concord First Assembly Church last year when he received one of those calls Olsen got at practice.
“I knew right away it was Macie,” he said. “Her blood saturation level, it’s supposed to be in the 80s and it was at zero. It’s a very scary time going through this, knowing your kid’s chest is wide open and you’re just helpless.”
Having a nurse there to help, Cantadore said, indeed was a lifesaver. Having an advocate like Olsen has been comforting.
“I don’t know Greg, but I’ve seen pictures of his kid running around and happy, so that was really good to hear when they told us Macie had the same thing,” he said.
Many families are starstruck when they first meet the 6-foot-5, 255-pound Olsen.
“He’s a tall man,” Crawford-Plant said. “I think they all take a step back. They get over that pretty quickly, because then they realize he’s just a dad.
“Kara and him were just two parents that were fighting the same battle to make sure not only that their child survived but thrived through their childhood.”
Saves lives
Macie Joy celebrated her first birthday two Saturdays ago.
That’s the first thing the Cantadores point to when asked why Olsen should win the man of the year award over finalists Eli Manning of the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
That’s why Aimee teared up when she began recalling all that Olsen’s foundation has done.
Crawford-Plant understands.
“What he’s doing does save lives,” she said.
Olsen doesn’t do this to win awards. He does it because it’s personal, from what he experienced with T.J. as an adult to his mother as a teenager.
He does it because he doesn’t want others to feel the fear he and Kara once did, because he wants to see other children born with a heart defect have a healthy and happy life.
“Our rule was we tried to have more good days than bad, and life was going to be normalized even if it was going to be a little at a time,” Olsen said. “That’s why we feel so passionate about playing that forward and trying to have the families that come behind us have a better experience than we did.”
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tears began to flow as Aimee Cantadore recalled the fear felt when nurses explained what she and her husband had to do at home for their newborn daughter to survive.
They continued when she remembered being told Macie Joy qualified for 280 hours of in-home nurse care through the The HEARTest Yard Foundation, established by Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen through Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte.
“He’s really kept our daughter alive by having help here,” Cantadore said.
A year ago Cantadore hadn’t heard of Olsen, who was preparing for Super Bowl 50 when Macie was born with half a heart. She wasn’t aware of his foundation, what congenital heart defect was or that Olsen had been through the same thing with his son T.J.
She still hasn’t met the three-time Pro Bowl selection, one of three finalists for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award that will be announced Saturday night at NFL Honors in Houston.
But she knows without Olsen, the past year would have been unmanageable.
“It makes me cry just thinking about it,” Cantadore said. “Having a nurse there was lifesaving. There is no way I could have handled caring for her and also be able to care for my other two [children] and continue daily things such as groceries and laundry.
“It was just a huge blessing.”
Olsen knows
In 2012, Olsen’s wife Kara gave birth to twins, son T.J. and daughter Talbot. T.J. was born with half a heart, a congenital heart defect known as hypoplastic left heart syndrome. They experienced the same fear Cantatore did as doctors and nurses explained how T.J. would need four surgeries — three open heart procedures and the installation of a pacemaker.
They felt their life was spinning out of control when told about the in-home care needed to keep T.J. alive after he spent about 40 days in intensive care.
Olsen’s biggest initial fear was he would mix the formula incorrectly and cause T.J. to die.
Within 24 hours of going home with T.J., the couple realized they needed in-home help. That was the genesis for The HEARTest Yard, a spinoff of Olsen’s foundation that was established in 2009 to raise money for breast cancer research.
“We kind of looked at each other and said, ‘This is way more than we anticipated. This is a full-time job,’ ” said Olsen, who is in Houston where the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots are preparing for Sunday’s Super Bowl LI.
“These were needs that not only were critical to his day-to-day, but critical to his development, preparing to go back into surgery.”
Fortunately for the Olsens, they could afford the care. Since 2013, their foundation has helped 47 families that could not.
Luann and Brian Register, whose son Brantley was born with HLHS in 2014, said they potentially could have lost their home had it not been for Olsen’s program.
Aimee’s husband, Frank, knows for sure he couldn’t have afforded the additional $20,000 to $25,000 in-home nursing cost on top of the other hospital bills.
“The first time [Olsen] met with a lot of us in the hospital as a group, he wanted to give these kids and these families the world, anything that he possibly could. We were actually the ones that said, ‘Slow down. We can’t do all that.'”
Kari Crawford-Plant, a pediatric nurse practitioner at Levine Children’s Hospital
He didn’t stop short of saying it was lifesaving for his daughter.
“I think that’s why they probably started the foundation,” Frank said. “They found out how difficult it is. Having that for my wife and me, it was phenomenal.”
Tears to advocate
Kari Crawford-Plant, a pediatric nurse practitioner at Levine Children’s Hospital, first met the Olsens in 2012 right after T.J.’s diagnosis.
“It wasn’t the best meeting because they were both sobbing,” she said. “I just introduced myself, told them they would get through it and that we would [tour the facility] another day when they collected themselves.
“He shook my hand and shut the door, and the next time I saw them was when they had twins.”
Crawford-Plant has watched Olsen grow from a father in disarray to a nationwide advocate for families affected by congenital heart defect.
“The one thing I have learned about Greg is he’s a big visionary,” said Crawford-Plant, who has become the go-to person at Levine for HEARTest Yard families. “The first time he met with a lot of us in the hospital as a group, he wanted to give these kids and these families the world, anything that he possibly could.
“We were actually the ones that said, ‘Slow down. We can’t do all that.’ ”
Slowing down isn’t Olsen’s style. On the field this season, he became the first tight end in NFL history to have 1,000 yards receiving for three consecutive years.
Off the field, between his HEARTest Yard campaign and Receptions for Research campaign — founded for breast cancer research because Olsen’s mother was diagnosed with that while he was in high school — the foundation has raised well over a $1.25 million.
The winner of the Walter Payton Award, which Carolina linebacker Thomas Davis won in 2014, will receive a $500,000 donation to the charity of his choice and another $500,000 in his name to be donated to the NFL’s Character Playbook.
Olsen’s foundation received a $25,000 donation from Nationwide recently when he won a social media competition among the 32 Walter Payton Award nominees.
Among those who pushed him over the top on Twitter were actors Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and William Shatner, as well as NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“He has a lot of popular celebrity connections that always help,” Crawford-Plant said. ”
[Actor] Vince Vaughn came to a hospital fundraiser. All of those things help this on a national level, not just a local level, which is important for kids with congenital heart disease.”
Game-changer
Olsen recently ran into a child at Levine whom he didn’t know had the same heart defect as T.J.
“They were just playing in the hallway,” Crawford-Plant said. “He turned and asked his grandmother, ‘What does he have?’ She told him. I could see that look on his face when he realized it was the same thing.
“It’s a game changer, and we witnessed that firsthand. It’s one of those things that is hard to imagine until you find yourself in that situation.”
Greg Olsen
“T.J. was standing there beside the child and they hugged and compared scars. I’m sure they have a lifetime bond there. It was sweet to watch.”
T.J. is 4 1/2 years old now and doing well, but even with an in-home nurse there were tough days. There were times when Olsen would leave in the middle of practice and rush home or to the hospital because of an emergency situation.
Those are things he’s able to share with other families.
“The biggest message we try telling them is the day to day, you’re going to have some bad days and you’re going to have some good days, and neither one of them is a sign of how it’s going to be forever,” Olsen said.
“Just take it as it comes, don’t get too far ahead of yourself and try to map out the next week, month, year, because it’s hard enough in the beginning to map out what the next 12 hours are going to be like.”
That’s why Olsen is so passionate about the HEARTest Yard. He only has to walk down the hall to T.J.’s room to understand what others are experiencing.
“It’s a game-changer, and we witnessed that firsthand,” he said. “It’s one of those things that is hard to imagine until you find yourself in that situation.”
Starstruck to dad
Frank Cantadore was coaching a high school basketball game at Concord First Assembly Church last year when he received one of those calls Olsen got at practice.
“I knew right away it was Macie,” he said. “Her blood saturation level, it’s supposed to be in the 80s and it was at zero. It’s a very scary time going through this, knowing your kid’s chest is wide open and you’re just helpless.”
Having a nurse there to help, Cantadore said, indeed was a lifesaver. Having an advocate like Olsen has been comforting.
“I don’t know Greg, but I’ve seen pictures of his kid running around and happy, so that was really good to hear when they told us Macie had the same thing,” he said.
Many families are starstruck when they first meet the 6-foot-5, 255-pound Olsen.
“He’s a tall man,” Crawford-Plant said. “I think they all take a step back. They get over that pretty quickly, because then they realize he’s just a dad.
“Kara and him were just two parents that were fighting the same battle to make sure not only that their child survived but thrived through their childhood.”
Saves lives
Macie Joy celebrated her first birthday two Saturdays ago.
That’s the first thing the Cantadores point to when asked why Olsen should win the man of the year award over finalists Eli Manning of the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
That’s why Aimee teared up when she began recalling all that Olsen’s foundation has done.
Crawford-Plant understands.
“What he’s doing does save lives,” she said.
Olsen doesn’t do this to win awards. He does it because it’s personal, from what he experienced with T.J. as an adult to his mother as a teenager.
He does it because he doesn’t want others to feel the fear he and Kara once did, because he wants to see other children born with a heart defect have a healthy and happy life.
“Our rule was we tried to have more good days than bad, and life was going to be normalized even if it was going to be a little at a time,” Olsen said. “That’s why we feel so passionate about playing that forward and trying to have the families that come behind us have a better experience than we did.”
