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Osi Umenyiora, a former New York Giants star and two-time Super Bowl champion, revealed a harrowing health battle that left him in a coma for several days.
Umenyiora returned to “The Breakdown” on the NFL UK & Ireland YouTube and said he went “through some real adversity.”
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Osi Umenyiora enters the field during the NFL London Games Ring of Honour ceremony at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 6, 2024. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
“I was in the hospital for almost a month,” he said. “I was in a coma for five days, had some extensive surgery. I was in a really, really bad place. And I find out right then and there who actually loved me because there were some people who showed up every single day. There were some people who came to see me when I was in a coma. There were some people who traveled from all across the world to come see me when I was at my lowest points.”
Umenyiora said his co-host Jason Bell was with him through the entire process. He said he “could feel the love” from Bell.
“This man right here was by my side,” he said of Bell. “I remember when I got up and I saw him for the first time, I just started crying because I could feel the love.
Osi Umenyiora chases quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the first half on Nov. 25, 2012. (CHRIS PEDOTA/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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“So don’t you ever mistake what we got going on up here for something that’s not real because this is real, and I love you, J-Bell. I really, really appreciate everything you did. They told me that when I heard your voice, my heart rate started to spike, which was absolutely incredible.”
Umenyiora didn’t delve into the specifics of his health issue.
The former NFL defensive end played 11 years in the NFL between the Giants and the Atlanta Falcons. He was a two-time Pro Bowler and was on the Giants’ teams that stunned the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI.
New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora (72) hits New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) on the final drive of Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium on Feb. 5, 2012. (TYSON TRISH/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Image)
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He had 85 sacks in 161 career games.
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