Bernie Kosar, the former Cleveland Browns quarterback, has been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and Parkinson’s disease, as reported by Cleveland Magazine.
The 60-year-old is currently on the waiting list for a liver transplant. University Hospitals hepatologist Anthony Post informed the magazine that Kosar’s condition has seen improvement since the beginning of the year. However, Post cautioned that liver disease can be unpredictable.
Cleveland Clinic’s chief wellness officer, Michael Roizen, also shared that there is a more than 90% likelihood that Kosar will need a new liver.
In addition to his liver condition, Kosar revealed he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease by an independent NFL doctor in February.
Hailing from Youngstown, Ohio, Kosar shared that he had been experiencing liver-related issues for years but ignored them due to uncertainty about the cause. It wasn’t until about 16 months ago that a diagnosis of cirrhosis confirmed the severity of his condition.
“My body gave out on me,” Kosar recalled in an interview with the magazine. He described an incident last December during a Browns home game against the New York Jets where he felt extremely unwell. “I really felt like I wasn’t going to make it home from the Jets game. I sucked it up, though, and continued to avoid the doctors until the new year.
“Then I went into the hospital and got a massive blood transfusion. It was like: ‘How are you alive? How are you moving? Because your hemoglobin levels are so low.'”
Kosar’s health issues continued as he fell ill again while traveling to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, leading to several days of hospitalization.
