Former NFL quarterback Bernie Kosar has revealed that he is undergoing multiple health battles, having been diagnosed with both Parkinson’s disease and liver failure.
The 60-year-old Kosar said it became apparent how poor his health was while he was in attendance at the Browns’ final home game of 2023 on December 28.
“My body gave out on me,’’ Kosar told Cleveland Magazine. “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.’’’
Kosar said he was put on the liver transplant list this spring, and that he was also diagnosed with Parkinson’s in February. However, he says he actually feels better now after following a strict diet and exercise program.
“I wish you could have seen me three months ago,’’ he said. “Actually, maybe not, because I looked like death. I felt like death. E. Coli blood poisoning. Heart trouble. And I really thought I needed the liver transplant ASAP. I was in bad shape.’’
Kosar says he won’t give up.
“I strongly believe in the power of positive thinking,’’ he said. “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.’’
Kosar was a first-round pick of the Browns in the 1985 supplemental draft and played for them until 1993. He later spent time with the Cowboys and Dolphins.