BOSTON (WHDH) - New England Patriots legend Tedy Bruschi opened up about suffering his second stroke Tuesday.
The Patriots Hall-of-Famer and one of the most recognizable faces from the early part of the Pats’ dynasty became an advocate for stroke awareness after suffering his first one in 2005.
Bruschi credited his knowledge and experience with the symptoms in helping him avoid another scare earlier in the month.
“I turned to my wife and she looked at me and I said, ‘Somethin’s not right. Something’s not right,’ and she couldn’t understand what I was saying,” Bruschi told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “She looked at my face and the left side of my face was drooping.”
After just returning from a run, Bruschi was getting ready to play football with his family when he realized what was happening.
“My left arm came up and it was, I could see it in front of me but I couldn’t feel the arm and I don’t know how it got up there,” he recalled. “So, I grabbed my arm and I couldn’t feel it at all and, I had lost the use of my arm.
“We immediately knew what was happening,” he said. “We knew this was happening again after 14, 15 years since my last stroke in 2005. So we called 911 right away and the ambulance came to the field and picked me up and I was off to the hospital.”
Bruschi was treated and released from Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro.
He is already back to his regular routine.
“I am doing well. Yesterday, I went for a 3.5-mile run,” he said. ” I am very lucky and very blessed to be able to say that because stroke is the number one cause of debilitation in the United States. So many people have had strokes, and aren’t the same afterward and here I am.”
Bruschi, a former third-round pick out of the University of Arizona, is a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Patriots. He was a two-time All-Pro selection. In his career, Bruschi had 668 tackles and 30.5 sacks. He also forced 18 fumbles and had 12 interceptions. He scored four defensive touchdowns in his career. He announced his retirement in 2009.
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