Earlier this summer, one of Texas Children’s patients Jeston Adams’ dreams came true – the 8-year-old got to meet his hero J.J. Watt. Since then, Jeston’s relationship with the Houston Texans football player has grown into a full-fledged friendship that has kept him going during his search for a new heart.
To Watt and Jeston’s amazement, that search ended three weeks ago when congenital heart surgeon Dr. Iki Adachi implanted a new heart into Jeston’s chest. The Louisiana native is recovering and being cared for by Dr. Jeff Dreyer, medical director of the Heart Transplant Program, and other members of the Heart Center team.
“Jeston has a very infectious personality,” Dreyer said. “He’s had a great attitude and that’s contributed to his recovery.”
After his transplant, Jeston worked with Texas Children’s Child Life team to create a video for the man he calls his big brother. Watt shared the video on social media.
“He has been a warrior through it all and handled it with such a positive attitude,” Watt wrote on Instagram. “He truly is an incredible kid with an amazing spirit. No matter what gets us down in life, how bad we feel or how negative the situation may seem, if we keep a positive attitude and fight with everything we’ve got, incredible things are possible. That’s what Jeston has taught me.”
Click here to watch CBS 11 KHOU’s update on Jeston.