One of the smartest, clutchest gunslingers in the annals of NFL history is facing down his most complicated issue yet — but that hasn’t kept the smile from his face.
Legendary NFL and Miami Hurricanes quarterback Bernie Kosar has revealed to Cleveland Magazine that, despite a pair of gut-wrenching health diagnoses, the 60-year-old remains upbeat.
Per the outlet, Kosar is facing down two devastating health issues:
- Liver failure.
- Parkinson’s disease.
On the first issue, Kosar has apparently shown marked improvement already — but that’s hardly cause to celebrate just yet.
“Liver disease does tend to fluctuate,” Dr. Anthony Post, who is treating Kosar, told Cleveland Magazine. “So he’s on that wave thing where it goes up and down. He’s in a good phase right now, but anything bad could happen.”
Dr. Michael Roizen, who is also treating Kosar, thinks that it’s almost inevitable that Kosar will need a liver transplant, which he is on a recipient list for.
“He is a wonderful and tough human being,” Roizen said, before also noting that “undergoing a transplant, no matter who you are, is a difficult thing: difficult to get the transplant, difficult to live with it.”
Kosar has been diagnosed with cirrhosis, the third of four stages of liver failure.
The longtime quarterback told Cleveland Magazine that an honorary visit to a tilt between the Cleveland Browns (the team Kosar played the longest for) and the New York Jets at the end of 2023 turned into a bad out-of-body experience.
“My body gave out on me,” Kosar said. “I really felt like I wasn’t going to make it home from the Jets game. I sucked it up, though, and continued to avoid the doctors until the new year.
“Then I went into the hospital and got a massive blood transfusion. It was like: ‘How are you alive? How are you moving? Because your hemoglobin levels are so low.’”
Adding to the liver issue, doctors have no clue what’s causing it, nor can they explain the long-term presence of “an organic solvent.”
After calling the solvent levels “higher than we’ve seen literally in anyone,” Roizan further explained just how much of anomaly Kosar’s issues are.
“This compound doesn’t live in humans for 24 hours,” Roizan said. “But it’s lived in him for probably 10 years, and we don’t know why.”
Despite the potentially grim diagnosis — even with the relatively recent uptick in health — Kosar is tackling all of this with a positive mentality.
“I strongly believe in the power of positive thinking,” Kosar explained. “For me, it’s not just a slogan. I believe that positive energy can be manifested in our brains, and I love to live in the space of positivity.
“I want to think about things that are helpful. It sounds like I’m getting on a soap box here, but I visualize good health. It’s not so much that I’m trying to sell it to myself, or that I’m in denial, as it is choosing to be positive.
“Because everybody’s got something. We’ve all got health issues to some degree, we all have bumps in the road.”
While Cleveland Magazine delved into the nitty-gritty oddities of Kosar’s liver failure, the article didn’t give as much attention to the other revelation about Kosar’s battles with early Parkinson’s.
“[Kosar] says he was also diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a neurodegenerative disorder of the brain, by an independent NFL doctor in mid-February. Cleveland Magazine was unable to independently confirm that diagnosis,” the outlet flatly stated.
Parkinson’s has already been a hot topic in the media due to a sudden controversy involving a Parkinson’s specialist visiting the White House following a disastrous debate performance from President Joe Biden.
To put it lightly, it’s been a headache for the Biden administration.
That debate performance has called into question — very loudly — Biden’s ability to lead amid a potential cognitive decline.
Keep in mind, Biden is over 20 years the senior of Kosar, so you can understand the outspoken consternation. Biden also occupies a position just a little more important than retired NFL luminary.
