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PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — An Eagles fan with a heart condition wanted a second chance at life. A Steelers fan mourning the sudden loss of his son found joy following tragedy. The friendship of 57-year-old Bill Soloway from Yardley and 68-year-old Jim Zimmerman Sr. from Mt. Pleasant, Pa. shows the power of giving.
Their bond and friendship are heartwarming.
“Because if it wasn't for my son doing this, Bill wouldn't be around,” Zimmerman Sr. said.
Zimmerman’s son, James Zimmerman Jr, tragically passed away in 2015 at 38 years old in our area. Zimmerman Jr. was a retired Marine and father, as well as an organ donor — something he became after his father told him he was listed as one.
“He was a very good-hearted person,” said Zimmerman Sr. of his son. “He was kind and always helping people. He was always out there to help someone.”
Soloway, who suffered from years of a genetic heart defect called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, was in need of a heart transplant. He couldn’t do what he enjoyed, which included long distance bicycle riding. He needed many procedures. His quality of life wasn’t good for someone in his 40s.
“I never dreamt that I would ever be riding my bike again,” said Soloway.
Then in June 2015, shortly after Zimmerman Jr’s death, Soloway got a call from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania after midnight that they had a heart for him. After the transplant, Soloway saw instant improvement, felt immensely better and could ride long distances again.
Zimmerman Jr. being an organ donor saved Soloway’s life.
“I have Jim's son, James' heart in me,” said Soloway, “and I'm able to do all these things and then some … more importantly, I wanted to reach out to my donor, James' family and say to them in person, 'Thank you for this special gift. This gift of life.'”
Soloway — who is the Executive Director of the Masonic Blood and Organ Donor Program of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, as well as an organization of blood drives throughout the state — explained it wasn’t easy knowing he was living from a heart transplant that came from someone else who died, which is why he personally felt determined to meet Zimmerman Jr’s family let them know how grateful he was for this second chance.
At the same time, expressing such gratitude is not as easy as it sounds, according to Soloway. A recipient simply can’t call a donor’s family on the phone and introduce themselves. Soloway wrote a letter five months after his transplant, which was then reviewed by the Gift of Life Donor Program. The organization then notified Zimmerman Sr, who wrote back a few months after that.
“I was glad Bill contacted me,” Zimmerman Sr, who is retired after working in a machine shop, said. “I really wanted to know where my son's heart was.”
Soloway felt an obligation to somehow quantify how much this meant to him, while committing the rest of his life to live for Zimmerman Jr. as well — who didn’t have that opportunity.
Zimmerman Sr. and Soloway have been tight ever since the latter reached out, eventually meeting in person about four years ago.
“I'm so happy that I met Bill,” Zimmerman Sr. said, “because Bill's such a good guy. After my son passed, I had a rough time at the beginning, and stuff. So, I was so glad to meet Bill and he's like family.”
“I just really wanted to be a special part of [Zimmerman Jr’s] family as well,” Soloway echoed.
Soloway has met multiple branches of Zimmerman Jr’s family, and he and Zimmerman Sr. keep in touch regularly while hanging out in-person every so often throughout the year. The two had gone to a Pittsburgh Pirates game together and Soloway had often seen his friend wearing something about the Steelers, but until this football season, it was being at a Steelers game that had yet to be checked off Zimmerman Sr’s bucket list. And going to Steelers games was something Zimmerman Sr. wanted to do with his late son, but didn’t get the chance.
“‘James is gonna take you to a Steelers game,’” Soloway told Zimmerman Sr. “And he kinda looked at me funny like, 'What are you talking about?' And I said, 'Well listen, James may not be with us completely, but his heart will be next to you and we're going to a Steelers game.'”
They went to the Steelers 2022 home opener against the New England Patriots at Acrisure Stadium.
“I was so happy,” said Zimmerman Sr, who fell in love with the multi-Super Bowl winning Steel Curtain of the '70s – saying ‘Mean’ Joe Greene is his favorite player of all-time. “I figured this was the only game I'd ever get to go to. Now I've been to three of them.”
Soloway took his friend from Western Pennsylvania to Lincoln Financial Field in October when the Steelers visited the Eagles, and that wasn’t the only surprise. He nominated Zimmerman Sr. to be the Steelers Finalist for the NFL Ultimate Fan of the Year competition.
Zimmerman Sr’s favorite current player, T.J. Watt, broke the news to him on the field at the Linc that he is one of 32 finalists. That landed him and Soloway a trip to Super Bowl LVII in Arizona, where the ultimate winner will be announced at the NFL Honors awards on the Thursday leading up to the Super Bowl.
The public gets to vote on who the Fan of the Year Award should go to, which can be found here.
And then, to add to the season of memories, Soloway took Zimmerman Sr. to the Steelers regular season finale, where they got to lead Pittsburgh fans in the ceremonial twirling of the Steelers “Terrible Towels” before the game.
Through the tragedy of losing Zimmerman Jr, Zimmerman Sr. and Soloway have developed a wonderful friendship.
“My son would've wanted it this way,” said Zimmerman Sr. – who along with his friend, Soloway, are emphasizing the importance of being an organ donor.
Zimmerman Sr. said he doesn’t care if anyone votes for him for Fan of the Year. He wishes people become organ donors. Soloway says when it comes to life, it’s not about which team you root for, but rather being on the Donate Life Team.
“Just being a lifelong Eagles fan, and then I get a heart transplant from a Steelers fan … truly I am a Steelers fan at heart,” he said.