Ed Orgeron says he was 'about to die' from sepsis
TLDR: Ed Orgeron says he was "about to die" before the staff at Our Lady of the Lake saved his life, his first full account of the sepsis scare that kept him hospitalized for more than 2 weeks.
Everyone knew Coach O had been sick. Until Thursday, nobody outside the building knew how close it got.
If you were curious about the severity of Ed Orgeron’s medical condition, he says here that he was “about to die” and OLOL’s staff saved his life.
Orgeron's words came in a video Our Lady of the Lake put out. He didn't soften it: "I was about to die and they saved my life." He also called the Baton Rouge hospital's staff the best family of doctors he has ever seen. Coming from a guy who coaches like he's 30 seconds from running through a wall, that hits hard.
Former LSU coach Ed Orgeron on his recent health struggles: "I was about to die and they saved my life." Good to see Coach O doing better.
Here's how it went. Orgeron, now 65 and working as Lane Kiffin's special assistant for recruiting and defense at LSU, got sick at practice back in August. In true Coach O fashion, he didn't want to leave until Kiffin sent him home. Then came the diagnosis: sepsis. He spent more than 2 weeks in the hospital at Our Lady of the Lake through August and September. Kiffin later admitted the whole thing was a little bit scary, and said Orgeron had joked that he'd rather die out on that field than go to the hospital. Funny in September. A lot less funny now that we know where that hospital stay was heading.
The comeback was slow. Orgeron didn't travel with the team until the October 10 trip to Kentucky, and he was on the sideline with a cane before the October 24 game at Auburn. Thursday's video was the real tell, though. That was him back in Coach O mode, saying he's happy to be here, happy to represent the Tigers and fired up for Saturday.
Chris Low's reply was the college football world reacting in 5 words. Anybody who's been around Orgeron knows the voice, and it's a good sign that you can still hear it. This is a guy who won a national title in Baton Rouge and whose voice basically belongs to the state of Louisiana. Hearing him say flat out that he nearly died lands differently than the usual "doing better" updates did.
Next up is Alabama on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT, and Coach O sounds like he plans to be there. LSU vs. Alabama with Orgeron on the sideline, a few months after he says he was about to die? Expect a crowd that's even louder than usual.
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