A passionate and dedicated teen athlete faced the ultimate devastation when he had to quit football in the sixth grade due to a heart defect. Now, 17-year-old Spencer Gilliam has experienced two dreams come true: getting to return to playing football and meeting his hero, Jason Kelce, Philadelphia Eagles center, whom he shares the same jersey number with, No. 62.
The teen, who plays center on his high school team, recently got to take a trip to Orlando, Florida, to attend the Pro Bowl — an opportunity he likely wasn't expecting to receive.
"When I was 15 weeks pregnant, my OB found a tumor a quarter of the size of his heart in his left ventricle," Thea Gilliam, Spencer's mom, said in an exclusive interview with People magazine. "The neonatal cardiologist told us when there are these tumors, the child has a 50% chance of having a disease called tuberous sclerosis. This means he could be born with tumors all over his major organs, including his brain, which could lead to severe mental and physical disabilities."
After Spencer was born, doctors didn't discover any other tumors. However, he did have a leaky, hardened heart valve. At 2 months old, he had his tumor taken out. Doctors explained at the time that they'd need to replace his heart valve when it worsened.
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Over the early years of his childhood, Spencer's heart was monitored and remained fairly stable, allowing him to participate in sports. His passion was football. "I started playing in fourth grade because my parents had gotten divorced when I was 7 and we were jumping around schools," he shared. "I thought we had finally found a school that we were going to stick with. So I started playing football."
But once he entered the sixth grade, his heart condition worsened and he was forced to quit football. "It had gotten too bad when I hit sixth grade that they finally made me quit," he recalled. "And I was really sad and depressed about it, so that's when my mom started taking me to Cowboys games, Cowboys meet and greets, making sure I was happy." The doctors told him that he would not longer be able to play sports, and he had a heart valve replacement scheduled.
"I was heartbroken," Spencer said. "I thought I'd never be able to play again, and football was my dream." Just 45 days after having his heart valve replaced, the teen got the news of his life: he was cleared to play sports again. He started out with baseball, then slowly made his way back to football. As of now, he is working on getting recruited to play college football.
The teen visits his cardiologist yearly before summer workouts to monitor his new heart valve. He then is able to spends his summers attending college football camps. And if that isn't enough, Spencer also makes money off TikTok by filming and posting videos regarding football. "He makes enough to pay for all his NFL games (even tickets for his closest teammates) and even going to Pro Bowl and training camps," his mom explained.
This year, he was able to attend to Pro Bowl and meet Jason Kelce. "It was so amazing," he shared. "I'm not going to lie, it's probably the happiest I've ever been when I got my jersey signed by him."
"I only got a couple moments to speak with him, but I told him I was a center, number 62, and he was just the nicest guy ever," the teen continued. "He asked me if I had any questions for him and I told him that I'd ask him when I made it to the league and made it to his position."
