Bryson Shupe reunited with his hero, Greg Olsen, years after his heart transplant!
CHARLOTTE, N.C. β A day that was about eight years in the making and one that will forever be cherished for 14-year-old Bryson Shupe and his grandmother, Denise Tensley, came together on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025.
“The opportunity was once in a lifetime,” said Tensley
Shupe has been a lifelong fan of the Carolina Panthers while growing up in North Carolina — the same team that supported him through his toughest battle. He was born with a congenital heart defect. When he was five, he spent more than eight months at Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital waiting for his new heart.
“I can’t put it into words what they’ve done and how they’ve helped us out, and they still help us and still back Bryson,” said Tensley. “I’m gonna start crying, it’s just amazing.”
TJ Olsen was born with a congenital heart condition that necessitated the transplant. In 2013, Greg Olsen and his wife, Kara, launched The HEARTest Yard, a foundation that offers support for pediatric cardiovascular patients.
During his stay ahead of his heart transplant, Shupe received a special visit from Olsen, who was also at Levine’s with TJ.
“One of my nurses came down and said that we need to get upstairs like fast, and we all thought that I had a heart. We got there here there he was, Greg Olsen was standing there,” Shupe recalled.
“He, like, stopped. Yeah, he couldn’t believe it was him,” said Tensley.
From there, a special connection was forged between Bryson, Greg, and the Panthers that has lasted, even eight years later. This season, Dave Canales welcomed Shupe to a Panthers practice and shared the news that they were inviting the now healthy 14-year-old to Green Bay for their Week 9 game against the Packers.Β
Bryson took his first-ever plane ride, where the flight attendants made a special announcement to welcome him aboard, and the pilots welcomed him to sit in the cockpit. Upon arriving in Green Bay, Bryson was welcomed to a hotel room ‘decked out’ in Panthers decorations.
Before the game, Bryson went up to the broadcast booth, where Greg Olsen was working the game as the television analyst. That was a reunion that has since taken over social media.
“I ran to him and I went over. I saw Greg Olsen turn around, and I couldn’t stop smiling after,” said Shupe. “Before the game, I was like, ‘We’re gonna win’. He’s like ‘Really?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, just wait.'”
“Weekends like this weekend just made my Nana heart melt so much,” said Tensley. “From the time he would wake up to the time he would fall asleep, he was smiling from ear to ear. I don’t see how his face isn’t hurting from all the smiling he’s done this weekend.”
Aside from the special treatment the Panthers gave Bryson and his “crew,” they also delivered on the field in a dramatic 16-13 win against the Packers.Β
“I’m surprised my voice is still with me, cause I was screaming defense when they had the ball, I was yelling for Bryce, I was like, ‘Listen, do this, do that, this’,” said Shupe.Β
The Panthers have been in Bryson’s corner for years and have left a message he always carries in his heart.
“You gotta like Panther’s [motto], keep pounding. No matter what life throws at you or what the other football team throws at you, you just gotta keep going,” said Tensley.
Contact Danielle Stein at dstein@wcnc.com and follow her on X and Instagram.
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