Jan. 16--Fred Hoiberg was in the midst of a successful NBA playing career when a Timberwolves team doctor suggested he take a trip to the Mayo Clinic "just to be sure that everything was OK."
Everything was far from OK.
The exam in 2005 revealed that the now-Bulls head coach had a life-threatening aortic aneurysm.
"Talk about a kick in the gut," Hoiberg said in a video on heartvalvesurgery.com to kick off a campaign to help people with heart valve problems learn about the condition and treatment options. "I was 32 years old, I was in the prime of my career (and) I'd just led the NBA in 3-point shooting. I basically was playing on the court with a ticking time bomb in my chest.
"It was very emotional," Hoiberg added. "I guess the first thing you go through is denial. I have to get a second opinion here; it can't be true. I don't feel anything, but once we talked to other doctors, yeah, I needed that surgery."
That surgery was an open-heart procedure that ended his playing career but allowed him to keep living and raise a family.
"I still thought about playing," Hoiberg said in the video. "I wanted to go out on my own terms. I did everything possible to get myself back in great shape, but I had four young kids and I just decided that it was time to move on to the next phase of my life. This last year, it really took a turn for the worse and the doctor recommended in December (2014) I should really consider having the valve replacement surgery."
Before the Bulls hired him, Hoiberg underwent the procedure during which a mechanical valve replacement was inserted. The device was developed by On-X Life Technologies, Inc. and Hoiberg's video appeared on its website under the headline "Patient Success Story."
Part of that success now is coaching the Bulls, a stressful and physically demanding job.
"I've always said if the doctors thought there was any type of risk at all, I'd be in a different profession," Hoiberg, 43, told the Tribune earlier this season. "My family means too much to me. The issue I had isn't stress related or blockage related, it was diseased tissue that I had replaced and removed. Hopefully the worst is behind me."
In the video, Hoiberg said he's able to lead a normal life despite the valve clicking away in his heart.
"The only limitations really that I have is they don't want me out playing football, things like that," Hoiberg said. "I can still go out and shoot with our guys. I'm able to do any cardio that I want. My three boys, one in high school, two in middle school, I can continue to be very active with them, and really that's what it's all about."
Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson contributed.
ckuc@tribpub.com
