TOMS RIVER, NJ — Courtney Olsen was scrolling Facebook in April when she saw the post. A friend's young son needed a liver transplant, and his mother was sharing information about becoming a living donor.
"I've always been interested in organ donation," Olsen, 37, of Toms River said in an interview with Patch. She had never checked the box for organ donor on her driver's license, but she is a regular blood donor and organ donation was something she had given thought to over the years.
So when she saw Leanna Fischetti's post about her son, CJ, Olsen didn't hesitate to reach out to the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Medicine Transplant Institute to get checked out.
"I thought if this is something I've been interested in and I'm healthy, why not?" said Olsen, who has a 9-year-old daughter.
CJ, who lives in Barnegat with his parents, Chris and Leanna and sister Cecilia, was born in June 2025 with a rare genetic disorder called Alagille Syndrome. As a result he did not have enough bile ducts for bile to flow freely through his liver. Bile is a key piece of digestion, as it helps break down food to allow nutrients to be absorbed.
"For the first year of his life he was in liver failure," said Ed Goodman, CJ's uncle, who spoke with Patch on behalf of his sister, Leanna, and her family.
CJ had been diagnosed with the syndrome when he was born, Goodman said.
"They knew right away," he said, adding the syndrome occurs in 1 of 70,000 babies. As a result, CJ had to receive his nutrition directly into his bloodstream through machine infusions, completely bypassing his digestive tract.
The family was in touch with the NJ Sharing Network, which works to connect those in need with organ donations, typically from someone who has died.
"He was on the NJ Sharing Network list for the entire first year of his life," Goodman said, reaching No. 2 on the list of those waiting for a liver. But movement on the list had been very slow.
That's what prompted Leanna to search for a living donor, Goodman said.
Around April she started to search online but the process wasn't simply about CJ, he said.
"She truly became an advocate for organ donation," Goodman said. "The message was never 'go see if you're a match for my son,' it was always organ donation can save a life like my son."
Olsen reached out to the Penn Medicine Transplant program, and told them she wanted to donate directly to CJ. She has type O-negative blood — which was a requirement for someone to donate to CJ — and is physically fit, she said. Living donors cannot have any long-term existing health conditions, Leanna said in her post.
The process was anonymous, Olsen said, and she remained anonymous to the family until after the transplant was completed.
She heard from the transplant program pretty quickly, and was brought in for testing not long afterward.
"From what I heard there were a lot of people who were tested," Olsen said. "It was frustrating that so many were not a match."
The process of determining if someone is a match is very involved, with multiple tests and scans to ensure the person is healthy enough to be a living donor. There are multiple doctors, nurses and psychologists involved and they have to reach a consensus that the person offering to be a living donor is the right fit, Olsen said.
She was confirmed as a match in early July, she said.
"They kept telling me that at any point you have the ability to back out," Olsen said. It was never a consideration.
Goodman said the Fischettis heard very little for weeks on end. They knew that a family member and a friend of the family had each tried to donate but were not able to do so.
On July 21, they were notified that a living donor wanted to help CJ, Goodman said.
What the Fischettis didn't know as CJ was wheeled in for his transplant surgery at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on Aug. 6 was that the donor was someone their family had known for years.
Leanna and Chris were both graduates of the Toms River schools, with Leanna graduating in 2010 from Toms River North.
Olsen, who graduated from Toms River East in 2007, went to high school with Chris Fischetti's older brother.
Olsen's brother, Charles, graduated from Toms River East with Chris Fischetti, Goodman said.
"I played basketball with Charlie growing up," Goodman said.
And the connections have continued to adulthood.
Olsen teaches Senior English at Toms River South. Her sister, Danielle Foran, has worked with Goodman at Toms River East for 14 years.
Leanna Fischetti and Olsen have several close friends who are mutual friends.
That included Olsen's best friend, who passed away from cancer in 2024.
"She (the best friend) was a big reason I felt drawn to sign up. When she was sick, all I wanted to do was help and there was nothing I could do," Olsen said.
Olsen said they learned about that mutual connection after the transplant.
"Her cancer ribbon color was green, and liver awareness is green too," Olsen said. "I believe in all of the signs and special reassurances that we are guided by and still with those we've lost."
While CJ's surgery was under way Aug. 6, Leanna Fischetti posted an update to family, friends and supporters of CJ's journey on Facebook.
"About 2 weeks ago we got the very unexpected call that our son was offered a liver from an anonymous donor.
"Because of a very selfless and kind person, our son has a second shot at life. A shot to grow up with his sister and family and thrive. To be a little boy, make memories, enjoy holidays, go to school — the normal things a lot of people might take for granted.
"How do you thank someone who gave your baby a piece of them? Thank you will never feel like enough. No hug will ever feel big enough. You saved our son's life. As a mother — this is the most overwhelmingly powerful feeling. Wanting to hug a stranger and thank them for ending this nightmare for us. We will always pay it forward. Every milestone our Christopher makes — we will always remind him how he got there. You've restored my faith in humanity and in God. All of our prayers have been answered because of a stranger."
"Oh. And if you aren't an organ donor, register to become one. If you'd like to be a living donor (liver or kidney) please reach out to me. Organ donation is crucial to so many families like ours," she wrote.
Olsen had learned that her sister worked with Goodman, CJ's uncle, but after the transplant she knew it was just a matter of time before what she had done would get out.
She kept it quiet for a period of time to make sure everything was OK.
Goodman said the Fischettis were eager to find out who had been so generous to their son. They were told the donor wanted to meet them, and that it was someone from Toms River.
"To find out that it was someone from our community, we were like 'No way!' " Goodman said. "To find out that it's someone from your own community, a community lifesaver, there was a sense of relief, we're going to be connected with this family forever."
Olsen finally connected with the Fischettis in early September and they talked about setting up an in-person meeting.
The universe had other ideas.
Ed Goodman was at his son's flag football game in September when his wife spotted Danielle Foran nearby. Courtney Olsen was there too, watching Danielle's son, who was playing in the same game.
Also at the game were the Fischettis, who had come and brought CJ on a whim to watch Goodman's son play.
Goodman's wife saw Foran — by then he was aware she had been keeping Olsen's secret in the weeks leading up to CJ's transplant — and pointed her out. Goodman walked over to Foran and told her the Fischettis and CJ were there, and asked if she wanted to meet them, he said.
"He told her, 'I can make this the best day of your life if you choose to accept it,' " Olsen said, and her sister jumped at it.
As Foran and the Fischettis were speaking, Olsen walked up.
"I saw my sister talking to two people with a carriage," and all of a sudden it hit her who it was. "I was like, 'Oh my God."
"I looked over my shoulder and there she was," Goodman said. "She was so strong and she was just smiling."
Olsen's mother and CJ's great-grandmother were there as well to witness it. The moment was spontaneous and natural, Olsen and Goodman said.
"There was no buildup of what do we talk about," Olsen said. When she met CJ, "he came right to me. Leanna was like 'he knows you feel familiar.' How full circle it felt to see him."
As Olsen lifted CJ in the air, Goodman snapped photos. "It was a very unique moment," he said.
"They weren't even supposed to be there," Olsen said she learned later. "They just decided to go see Eddie's son."
After the transplant, Olsen said she had some complications as it took "a little while" for her incision to close. "My body seemed to not like stitches."
She also was tired as her liver worked to regrow the portion removed for CJ.
"Your liver is doing what it always does, but it's growing," she said. "I took a lot of naps."
"I just ran for the first time after two months," she said. "I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I knew what I was doing was important. I knew that it was a good thing."
Liver donations from living donors have advantages, according to Dr. Kim Olthoff, who treated CJ. In a video shared by the Penn Medicine Transplant Institute, Olthoff said a living donor helps avoid some of the issues that go with receiving one from a deceased donor. Patients on a waiting list are typically much more ill, which makes the long-term survival more difficult. The quality and function of the liver from a living donor is carefully assessed, making it much better for the recipient.
CJ was released from CHOP on Sept. 3, as hospital staff cheered the little boy's departure that was captured on video.
"THe CHOP faculty and staff are incredible human beings," Goodman said. "Olthoff has dedicated her life to this disease. That's something we really cherish and are thankful for."
His recovery requires a great deal of physical therapy, because CJ has to learn to chew and swallow, and his digestive tract has to learn how to work to process food. He has started eating applesauce and yogurt and similar soft foods.
"The doctors have to provide something (to eat) and see his response," Goodman said. There are weekly goals that he has met every week since leaving CHOP in terms of quantity and types of food he can eat.
"Now he has a chubby face and a chubby belly," Goodman said.
"(Leanna) sent me a list of all the foods he is devouring now," Olsen said.
Along with updates on how CJ is growing, Olsen said she has received many messages from the Fischettis' family members thanking her for making the donation.
"She is a lifesaver," Goodman said. "She is selfless and she is a hero to our family."
"They have been so loving and appreciative," Olsen said. "They tell me, 'You're a part of the family.' "
"We received a living miracle," Goodman said. "There's never going to be a year where we don't celebrate a holiday with her."
"They are truly honoring that idea of CJ and I being connected for life," she said.
Olsen and Goodman both said the most important message they want people to understand is the difference organ donation can make in someone's life.
"Sometimes the smallest decision you make can have the largest impact. A small decision can impact a family's life," Goodman said. "CJ is going to grow and blossom. Without Courtney none of that is possible."
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