Teen's Heart Defect Forces Him to Quit Football. After Surgery, He Returns to Field — and Meets Hero Jason Kelce (Exclusive)

Spencer Gilliam plays center for his team and wears number 62, just like Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce

Meeting Jason Kelce is a dream for so many fans — but for Spencer Gilliam, it represents a reality he almost didn't get.

The 17-year-old athlete, who originally hails from Texas, made the journey to Orlando, Florida, recently to attend the Pro Bowl. Spencer, who plays center on his high school football team and wears a jersey with the number 62, was hoping to get to meet one of his heroes: Philadelphia Eagles center Kelce, who also wears number 62.

For Spencer, getting to do things like attend the Pro Bowl is extra special.

"When I was 15 weeks pregnant, my OB found a tumor a quarter of the size of his heart in his left ventricle," Spencer's mom Thea Gilliam tells PEOPLE exclusively.

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"The neonatal cardiologist told us when there are these tumors, the child has a 50 percent 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."

When he was born a few months later, Spencer was taken to a neighboring children's hospital. Although doctors discovered he didn't have any other tumors, they found that he had a leaky, hardened heart valve. His tumor was taken out when he was 2 months old, with doctors telling his parents that they'd eventually need to replace his heart valve when it further deteriorated.

Despite his difficult start, Spencer's health remained stable over the next few years. While his heart was being monitored, he was able to participate in team sports — and for him, football was everything.

"I started playing in fourth grade because my parents had gotten divorced when I was 7 and we were jumping around schools," he tells PEOPLE. "I thought we had finally found a school that we were going to stick with. So I started playing football."

Spencer was able to play until his sixth grade year, when his heart condition began to worsen.

"It had gotten too bad when I hit sixth grade that they finally made me quit," he remembers. "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."

It was then, Thea says, that doctors informed Spencer and his parents that he would no longer be able to play sports. Additionally, in January 2021, doctors scheduled Spencer's heart valve replacement.

"I was heartbroken," Spencer remembers of being told he couldn't play football anymore. "I thought I'd never be able to play again, and football was my dream."

According to his mom, because of the severity and old scar tissue, the doctors had to open him up again and break his sternum to perform the surgery. "Poor guy couldn't have any visitors except his parents due to COVID. [It was a] 9 hours surgery and he was able to get off narcotics the next day," she tells PEOPLE.

After 45 days, doctors had amazing news for the athlete: they were clearing him to return to sports, first baseball and later football.

"I'm still playing to this day," he proudly says. "I play center and I'm number 62, and we play about 10 games a season. I'm actually working on getting recruited right now to play college ball."

Spencer sees his cardiologist every year right before summer workouts to monitor the valve integrity. But otherwise, he spends his summers attending college football camps in an effort to get recruited and has had unofficial invites during his junior year.

In addition to his job at Whataburger, the teenager makes money off TikTok by filming and posting videos of all things 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 shares.

This year, Spencer attended the Pro Bowl in Florida and had his sights set on meeting one of his biggest heroes: Kelce.

"It was so amazing," he says of meeting the Philadelphia Eagles center. "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. 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."

Although he wasn't able to share his full story with Kelce, Spencer says "I would if I could, because he's everything I want to be."

Currently, Spencer lives with a swine valve, which his mom says will need to be replaced in 10-15 years. "Hopefully longer," Thea says. "But we live in the moment and [in] this moment, he is chasing his dreams."

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