I would not be here without Nick Saban.
Whats more, while most people are born with three heart valves, Sarkisian was born with two.
The then 46 year old had no idea until the physical.
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“Never had we seen something this dire or this critical that had to be managed and managed immediately.
He was literally a ticking time bomb.
If we don’t get this fixed, this is going to be a major issue.”
Sarkisian had what doctors called a widowmaker.
Normally, aneurysms dont require surgery until they are larger than three centimeters.
By the time Sarkisians was discovered, his aneurysm was six and a half centimeters in diameter.
Four days after his diagnosis, Sarkisian underwent the open heart surgery that saved his life.
Three weeks later, he was at training camp.
That season he helped lead Alabama to its 18th National Championship win.
He left at the end of that season for the head coaching job at Texas.
“To have this executive physical, he saved me.”
Saban brushed that notion off.
“The scar reminds me of, we can overcome a lot,” he told ESPN.
“Just because we hit a roadblock in our life, we don’t have to stay there.
We can get on the other side of it and keep charging forward.
I’m a better coach today, I’m a better man today, because of that.”
