Mike Ditka
“You take life for granted until you come face to face with the reality that you’re not going to be around forever. I thought to myself, ‘I’m Iron Mike. I’m invincible. I’m never going to have a health problem.’ But then, I had one.“In 1988, I had a heart attack. I’m very thankful to my assistant coaches for realizing that there was something serious going on that day so that I was able to get to the hospital. I think I handle pain pretty well, and this was pretty bad. You can’t describe the feeling. It’s like your chest is in a vice, but it’s a suffocating feeling and you can’t do anything about it. “My heart attack was brought about by stress, not just the way that I coached, but the amount of stress I put on myself in every area of my life. And the reality was that I was frightened when it happened and I was thankful that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Once I recovered and went through rehabilitation and everything, I was pretty good about taking care of myself for a while. “But then, after a while, I forgot about it, and went back to thinking that I was invincible again. Well, I wasn’t. “I still wasn’t dealing with my stress very well. I’ve always believed that if you don’t do things with passion in life, you shouldn’t do them. But I think there’s a way to control that, to a degree. I had to learn to understand that none of what was causing my stress was life and death. I was in a sport called football and there were men who had more to do with the outcome of a game than I ever did. But it was my job to direct them. I think if I had it to do over again, I’m not sure I would do it much differently. But I sure would have thought about my stress and how to find that balance a lot more.
“After my heart attack, my lifestyle changed; I ate better, I exercised. But I don’t think my tension changed and I don’t think my attitude changed. It hadn’t sunk in totally. It scared me, it put the fear of God in me, and I did a lot of things differently. But the stress was still tremendous, and I didn’t deal with it any differently. I always put an emphasis on being first, on winning and, after a while, I think it took its toll. I finally learned my lesson six years later, when I had to have an angioplasty to treat a clogged artery. “Now, I’ve learned how to control my stress. Winning is the furthest thing from my mind now. I couldn’t care less. I might throw a golf club once in a while, but you know what? Three-putting used to be like the earth was going to come to an end in the old days. No more. I don’t care.
“People are there to help you. Doctors are there to help you, and family. You’ve got to understand that you’re not taking this trip alone through life. You let a lot of people down when you disappear, so stick around.”
One Response to “ Mike Ditka ”
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October 5th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Thank you, Iron Mike, for your candid feedback. You have been an idol in our family for many years now, and in many ways, you and my father have a lot in common. Your story has been sent to him for inspiration. He has been diagnosed with hypertension and high cholesterol, and he is working on changing his eating habits and has begun an exercise routine. I’m hoping he will read your comments and make efforts to control his stress as well. He doesn’t show it - but I know he has a storm brewing inside watching his grandsons play football. You have always been an inspiration to us, and now again in a new area!