Cancer Left Him Blind. When His Son Was Diagnosed, Ex-usc Long Snapper Found Trojans Had His Back Again

Former USC agelong snapper Jake Olson made assemblage shot history astatine nan Coliseum successful September 2017 arsenic nan first wholly unsighted subordinate to compete successful a Division I assemblage shot game.

Eight years later, his not-quite-8-month-old boy was having nan clip of his life crawling astir connected nan aforesaid field.

The value of nan infinitesimal was not mislaid connected Olson.

Rowan Olson plays pinch a shot Sept. 5 connected nan section astatine nan Coliseum.

(Courtesy of nan Olson family)

“Watching Rowan crawl astir retired location connected that grass, successful that stadium that shaped truthful overmuch of my story, was affectional successful a measurement I didn’t expect,” Olson told The Times during a bid of interviews complete nan telephone and via email. “It felt for illustration a full-circle blessing.”

It wasn’t nan only blessing Olson, his wife, Audrey, and their boy knowledgeable during that travel to Los Angeles successful September.

“We were really retired location for Rowan’s first checkup aft finishing his past information of systemic chemo,” Olson said, “so nan full travel already carried this consciousness of ceremony and relief.”

Rowan was calved Jan. 17, 2025, pinch bilateral retinoblastoma, nan aforesaid uncommon puerility crab that had caused his begetter to suffer some of his eyes by property 12. Since his test astatine 6 days old, Rowan has made monthly trips pinch his parents from their location successful Jacksonville, Fla., to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, nan aforesaid spot his begetter had been treated decades earlier while increasing up successful Huntington Beach.

During those infirmary visits, Rowan underwent systemic and intravitreal chemotherapy and laser treatments designed to shrink nan cancerous tumors successful each of his eyes, extremity nan crab from spreading and sphere his vision.

After six months of treatment, nan tumors had go mini capable that nan systemic chemotherapy could stop. And now, according to Dr. Jesse Berry, main of ophthalmology and head of nan retinoblastoma programme astatine CHLA, nan laser curen and injections into Rowan’s eyes are nary longer needed arsenic well.

“I deliberation correct now he is cancer-free,” Berry said. “We person nary grounds that he has progressive crab anyplace successful his body, but he’s a kiddo that we will ever watch closely.”

Rowan celebrates his first day successful January. His expert says he has “excellent vision” aft months of chemotherapy.

(Courtesy of nan Olson family)

The monthly visits to CHLA will yet beryllium spaced out, but Rowan will person to beryllium monitored nan remainder of his life successful lawsuit nan crab returns.

“There’s ever a chance that mini tumors popular up present and location complete nan adjacent mates of years, which is normal for retinoblastoma. That’s why changeless monitoring is truthful important,” Olson said. “As agelong arsenic we enactment connected apical of it, immoderate mini spot that appears tin beryllium lasered instantly and taken attraction of.”

Unlike Rowan, Olson was not diagnosed until he was 8 months old. His near oculus was removed 2 months later, while nan remaining crab was treated pinch systemic chemotherapy. Olson was 12 erstwhile doctors decided his correct oculus needed to beryllium removed.

“Retinoblastoma is very treatable — you know, you drawback it early, it’s very treatable,” Olson said.

“I conscionable don’t want [Rowan] to person a 12-year conflict pinch this. Dr. Berry made that very clear up beforehand that his business is simply a batch different than mine, that we’re going to sound these things out, and he’s going to turn up pinch show successful some eyes and really ne'er astir apt retrieve a batch of it.”

According to Berry, Rowan has “excellent vision.”

Olson’s ophthalmologist astatine CHLA was nan precocious Dr. A. Linn Murphree, a pioneer successful ocular oncology who later served arsenic Berry’s mentor.

After Rowan was diagnosed, nan Olsons didn’t hesitate successful choosing a infirmary much than 2,400 miles from location for their son’s treatment, some because of its estimation arsenic a starring retinoblastoma halfway and because of nan typical attraction Olson received location passim his childhood.

Dr. Jesse Berry holds Rowan Olson while opinionated betwixt nan newborn’s parents, Audrey and Jake, successful early 2025.

(Courtesy of nan Olson family)

“I texted [Berry] — astatine what was 6:30 successful nan greeting her clip — and she responded wrong 2 minutes, encouraging america and confidently telling america that she will return nan champion attraction of Rowan,” Olson said. “That’s conscionable a glimpse into who she is and nan civilization Dr. Murphree built.”

At nan time, Berry was dealing pinch hardship of her own. She and her family had conscionable mislaid their Altadena location in nan Eaton fire and were considering leaving nan Los Angeles area to rebuild their lives. She said a telephone from Olson astir his newborn boy helped her determine to stay.

“Jake called and said, ‘I conscionable had a baby, and I’m sitting successful a doctor’s agency and they deliberation he has RB, and I want to travel spot you.’ And that was nan aforesaid week arsenic nan fire,” Berry said. “And truthful I said, ‘OK, we’ll spot you adjacent week.’ He and his family were a existent anchor to keeping america group successful L.A. and really focused connected nan greater mission.”

Once backmost astatine CHLA, Olson knowledgeable an aggravated emotion of deja vu.

“We walked into nan aforesaid waiting room I utilized to beryllium in, nan aforesaid exam rooms, proceeding nan aforesaid vocabulary I hadn’t heard successful years. It was for illustration being thrown consecutive into nan heavy extremity of my past,” Olson said.

“The hardest infinitesimal was going to nan portion of nan infirmary wherever my past room — nan 1 that took my eyesight — took place. Even though I couldn’t spot it, my assemblage remembered. I had to conflict backmost panic I didn’t moreover cognize I was tin of feeling. But I had to enactment dependable for Audrey and for Rowan. That was astir apt nan hardest point I’ve ever had to do.”

But nan location of nan monthly treatments came pinch an other benefit.

“When we recovered retired that [Rowan] had this tumor, we instantly flew retired to California and were surrounded by Jake’s family, who had gone done this and had nan experience, nan contented and knowledge astir nan disease,” Audrey Olson said.

Audrey, Jake and Rowan Olson return a family selfie aft a agelong recreation time from Florida to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles successful May.

(Courtesy of nan Olson family)

“So I really leaned connected nan support of nan family we were surrounded by. And past I besides conscionable leaned connected Jake, who I cognize lived a awesome life aft losing his show and battling his cancer. We decidedly leaned connected each different a ton and could not person done it without each other.”

USC shot has been a awesome portion of Olson’s life since childhood. Upon learning he would beryllium losing his eyesight, Olson became wished to watch arsenic overmuch of nan Trojans arsenic he could earlier his surgery. Then-coach Pete Carroll heard astir Olson and allowed him to bent retired pinch nan squad successful meetings, successful nan locker room and connected nan sideline. His past time pinch show was spent astatine a USC practice.

It wouldn’t beryllium Olson’s past clip successful that environment. Not moreover close. After years of learning nan techniques of a agelong snapper, Olson earned a first-string spot astatine nan position for Orange Lutheran and joined nan Trojans successful 2015 arsenic a walk-on player.

Two years later, connected Sept. 2, 2017, then-coach Clay Helton called connected nan 20-year-old agelong snapper for an extra-point effort pursuing a USC touchdown against Western Michigan. Olson’s snap, arsenic described by The Times’ Bill Plaschke astatine nan time, was “perfect” and nan footwear was good, sealing a 49-31 Trojans victory.

USC agelong snapper Jake Olson conducts nan marching set aft nan Trojans’ 49-31 triumph complete Western Michigan connected Sept. 2, 2017, astatine nan Coliseum.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

“You conscionable ne'er cognize what’s going to travel from adversity and from situations, for illustration nan miracles that tin travel from what we deliberation are tragedies. And that occurrence for maine was playing shot astatine SC,” said Olson, who played successful a full of 3 games during his clip pinch nan Trojans. “Honestly, I don’t cognize if I ever would person done that if I kept my eyesight aliases ne'er had cancer. So for me, being capable to play astatine that schoolhouse was a pinnacle of everything I’d gone done that had led maine there.

“I don’t cognize what Rowan’s pinnacle is going to be, but there’s going to beryllium miracles that travel from this. ... There’s a level of excitement to that, conscionable dream and knowing there’s going to beryllium thing typical that comes from this. For me, it was playing astatine USC, and I deliberation that’s conscionable indisputable grounds of that. And we’ll spot what that is for Rowan.”

As news collapsed astir Rowan’s betterment successful caller weeks, Olson said he received a matter from existent USC coach Lincoln Riley.

“He sent a really, really typical connection that conscionable fto america cognize he’s praying for us,” Olson said. “Trojan shot has helped maine get done truthful overmuch successful life. It did past year, is going to this twelvemonth and for each twelvemonth to come. And if, Lord willing, Rowan will 1 time deterioration that helmet too.”

Former USC agelong snapper Jake Olson holds boy Rowan connected nan shot section astatine nan Coliseum connected Sept. 5, 2025.

(Courtesy of nan Olson family)

During his family’s sojourn to nan Coliseum past fall, Olson introduced his woman and boy to Helton, now nan caput coach astatine Georgia Southern, whose squad was practicing up of its crippled against nan Trojans nan adjacent day.

“That unsocial felt special,” Olson said of gathering up pinch nan coach who had helped alteration his life. “But then, we were capable to locomotion retired onto nan nonstop gait statement wherever I snapped from.

“Standing location pinch my woman and son, connected nan very spot wherever I had shown truthful overmuch resilience myself, felt for illustration seeing nan fruits of ‘Fight On’ successful existent time. It acted arsenic a reminder and encouragement for why I was still fighting connected now done this caller crab journey. It was surreal and ineffable astatine nan aforesaid time.

“If it weren’t for nan Coliseum and USC football, I genuinely don’t cognize if Audrey aliases Rowan would beryllium successful my life. And if it weren’t for maine learning really to conflict connected done each that it took successful bid to get to that 3-yard line, I don’t cognize really I would beryllium fighting connected arsenic a begetter aliases a hubby now. So to person some of them there, connected that field, taking it each successful for nan first time, it meant nan world.”