Buffalo, NY – Buffalo Rasmus Dahlin Sabers Captain revealed on Friday that his fiancée, Carolina Matovac, needed vital heart transplant in the summer.
In a message that Dahlin and Matovac published on the Sabers website on Friday, the defender explained how his fiancée felt sick for several days for vacation in France before the failure of his heart. He wrote that Matovac needed RCR on “several occasions and up to a few hours at a time”, then spent weeks in life before receiving a new heart.
Dahlin said Matovac is “on the way to a complete recovery” and is rehabilitated in Sweden before being able to travel and join him in Buffalo.
“Without receiving the Vitale RCR, the result would have been unimaginable. It is even difficult to think of the worst case,” wrote Dahlin, who is in Buffalo for the training camp, which opened on Thursday.
“We want to highlight the importance of the treatment of RCR, RCR training, organ donation and heart problems that have an impact on so many people and families around the world,” said the message. “We cannot say thank you enough to all organ donors, and we are grateful beyond the words for the new life that organ donation provided to Caroline.”
The two credited doctors and staff of several hospitals in France and Sweden where Matovac was treated, as well as the Hogsbo Rehabilitation Center in Sweden.
Dahlin also expressed its gratitude to the NHL and the NHL players’ association, Sabers and its agent, Craig Oster, for their support. He thanked the doctor from NHLPA, Scott Delaney, for supervised the plans on the Matovac medical treatment and for offering comfort to the couple’s parents.
Dahlin, 25 years old, enters his eighth NHL season after being selected for the first time in the general classification by Buffalo during the 2018 draft. The Swedish has exceeded 50 points in each of his last four seasons and has been selected to represent his country at the Winter Olympic Games in 2026 in Italy.
(Matovac) has demonstrated a incredible determination, positivity and resilience that I am impressed, “wrote Dahlin.
“It was undoubtedly the most difficult chapter of our lives. However, it is something we have learned so much,” he added. “We hope we can all think about the luck we have of having the people and the experiences that we share together every day.”
