On June 14, 7-year-old Jack Conover received a new heart.
But on Tuesday, the Ridgefield boy’s wish came true. That’s when the young Seattle Seahawks fan met his team’s star quarterback, Russell Wilson.
“He’s so excited,” Jack’s mom, Kelly Conover, said after the visit.
Jack was star-struck initially, hiding behind Kelly as Wilson walked past his room at Seattle Children’s Hospital. At Kelly’s urging, Jack ran back into his room, threw on his No. 3 jersey and waited for Wilson to emerge from another patient’s room.
Wilson visits with the hospital’s young patients and their families every Tuesday. This week, he had a long list of kids to see. The list didn’t include Jack, but some of the nurses changed that.
“Because everybody knows Jack wants to meet him, they turned him around,” Kelly said.
Wilson shook Jack’s hand and said “hi.” He gave the boy an autographed picture, a Seahawks yearbook and a high-five. The pair posed for a quick photo, and then, Wilson was off to continue his rounds.
Wilson shared the photo of him and Jack with his 1.2 million Facebook fans, nearly 900,000 Twitter followers and 800,000 Instagram followers.
“He’s so happy,” Kelly said of Jack.
Wilson’s brief visit lifted spirits for both Jack and Kelly after unexpected test results landed the second-grader back in the Seattle hospital.
Jack was born with a congenital heart defect and underwent a heart transplant June 14. He was released from the hospital June 27, but he and Kelly had to stay in Seattle for weekly check-ups, blood tests and echocardiograms.
Finally, on Aug. 28, Jack and Kelly were able to return home and reunite with Jack’s dad and Kelly’s fiance, Kris Anderson, and Jack’s brother, 4-year-old Patrick Anderson.
Jack started second grade with his classmates at South Ridge Elementary School on Sept. 3. He was feeling good and doing well in school, Kelly said.
On Sept. 15, Jack underwent his three-month post-surgery biopsy. The labs showed high levels of cytomegalovirus, a widespread and common virus that can infect almost anyone, in Jack’s blood. The virus typically doesn’t cause any symptoms in healthy people, but it is cause for concern for those who are pregnant or who have weakened immune systems, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Jack and Kelly arrived at Seattle Children’s Hospital on Friday evening. Jack is receiving IV antiviral medications twice a day for two weeks to attack the virus, Kelly said. He might get to go home this week and continue his treatment from there.
“It was just something that happened because he has a suppressed immune system,” she said. “This isn’t the only time we’ll be here for this. This is likely something we’ll deal with throughout his transplant adventure.”
Jack has been bored at the hospital and has spent much of his time playing video games, Kelly said. But that changed after Tuesday’s surprise visit from Wilson.
“I’ve been trying to get the video game out of the room because I don’t like video games,” Kelly said. “Now, he’s so excited to look at this yearbook. I don’t have to worry about video games.”
