ATLANTA — A young heart transplant recipient is rising up for the Atlanta Falcons in a big way on Sunday.
According to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Falcons players Grady Jarrett and Mike Davis will be wearing some very special cleats for the game on Dec. 5, designed by 10-year-old Bentley Nation, a recent heart transplant recipient.
While attending sports camp in July, Bentley became out of breath and soon discovered he was in congestive heart failure, according to Children's. He was rushed to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Heart Center for treatment.
"The Heart Center care team worked to get Bentley healthy enough to undergo a transplant and Dr. Joshua Rosenblum, cardiothoracic surgeon, performed the surgery on Oct. 4," a spokesperson said. "Just 10 days later, Bentley was doing so well that he was discharged. During his three months in the hospital, he made countless pieces of art for his nurses and doctors. So, when the opportunity arose for a patient at Children’s to design cleats for two Falcons players, they knew Bentley had to rise up."
“He was thrilled,” said Kandy Kane Mansell, Bentley’s grandmother. “He was really overwhelmed, and he got so emotional thinking he had to come up with the best thing.”
The special opportunity is part of the NFL's My Cause My Cleats program.
