CLEVELAND — It’s been more than a year since Browns great Bernie Kosar announced he was placed on a liver transplant list.
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For the better part of that time, he has been able to keep in relatively good condition through a strict health regimen. But in recent weeks, he’s had some health struggles, and he now could be getting that transplant any day.
“It’s been a challenging time mentally and physically,” Kosar said. He moved last week into an apartment in the University Circle area so that he could be close to the hospital when that call does come.
“You know it looks like it could be any day now,” he said as he weighed the emotions around what has to transpire for that to happen.
“To really realize that I’m going to be getting a liver from somebody that really could have a bad accident today. From a psychological standpoint, I don’t wish any ill or issues like that on anybody, and to think that that’s kind of what we’re waiting for right now, it's spiritually conflicting.”
While Kosar remains active, he’s literally in need of surgical procedures every couple of days to remove liters of fluid from his body at a time.
“I fluctuate about a good 40 pounds through the course of the week, so depending on what day of the week you catch me, I could look like a pregnant guy with twins or I could look like a heavy chemo patient depending on what part of the week it is.”
Due to the issues surrounding his liver failure, other medical procedures related to his football injuries had to be put on hold.
“I can’t really withstand those anymore, so some of the other issues going on with me, some of the minor surgeries that I started to have again because I thought I was better a few months ago, turned out I wasn’t as good as I thought, and those surgeries absolutely amplified or showed that my body was in duress,” he said.
Those changes have been noted by members of the public who have expressed their concerns — one of the reasons he wanted to be open at this time.
“To have friends like you, to have other friends that have asked me to talk about this, I thought it was wrong of me to try to mask it and hide it and not be blunt with you,” he said “It’s really hard on this (holding his cellphone) to really tell some of the people that we’re close with. So it’s kind of a way to let people know this is happening. I’m going to be good with it.”
Kosar said he’s taking almost the same mental approach to this as he did his game planning around football, and a lot of that has to do with a positive mindset.
If you think positively and believe in yourself, while also putting in the prep work, you have a better chance of success, he said
As he waits, two of his daughters are with him. He’s grateful for the family he’s fighting for and ever mindful of the one whose loss will make that future possible.
“Some young person has got to have a bad accident for that to happen, and something tragically is going to happen to a young healthy person and that part of me is just echoing in my head right now for individually that person and their family because I know how excited for me to get help,” he said.
“Unfortunately, when I’m going to be getting transplanted in, the consequences for somebody else was tragic, and I’m not going to take that gift and that honor lightly.”
