Bob_R
04-02-2004, 03:17 PM
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Broadcaster Pat Summerall was hospitalized in stable condition Friday awaiting a donor organ for a liver transplant.
The 73-year-old former NFL kicker is on the waiting list at St. Luke's Hospital, spokesman Erik Kaldor said. He could not say how long it would take before Summerall receives a transplant.
St. Luke's is owned by the Mayo Clinic, and through Wednesday performed 62 liver transplants this year. Jacksonville has the country's shortest waiting list for liver transplants, Kaldor said.
The veteran broadcaster was flown Thursday by air ambulance to Jacksonville from Fort Worth, Texas, where he had been hospitalized in Methodist Medical Center's intensive case unit since early this week. Summerall is a recovering alcoholic.
Summerall qualified for a transplant through blood tests that rank potential recipients anonymously.
Kaldor said Summerall's fame or age have nothing to do with his ranking in the transplant system. He said Summerall has an uncommon blood type, which would have to match a donor.
In 1992, Summerall was persuaded by friends to enter the Betty Ford Center in California.
His wife said the broadcaster has been sober 12 years, but because alcoholism is a progressive disease, damage to his liver made a transplant necessary for survival.
"Alcoholism impacts people in all walks of life, from the homeless to the famous," Cheri Summerall said. "Pat wants everyone who has a problem with alcohol to know there is always hope, and organizations are standing by to help you."
Summerall played in the NFL for 10 years (1952-61) before becoming a broadcaster, then spent more than 40 years in the booth. He teamed with John Madden to call Fox's lead game from 1994-01, and they were the No. 1 team on CBS for 13 seasons before that. The two called eight Super Bowls together and Summerall has called 16.
The 73-year-old former NFL kicker is on the waiting list at St. Luke's Hospital, spokesman Erik Kaldor said. He could not say how long it would take before Summerall receives a transplant.
St. Luke's is owned by the Mayo Clinic, and through Wednesday performed 62 liver transplants this year. Jacksonville has the country's shortest waiting list for liver transplants, Kaldor said.
The veteran broadcaster was flown Thursday by air ambulance to Jacksonville from Fort Worth, Texas, where he had been hospitalized in Methodist Medical Center's intensive case unit since early this week. Summerall is a recovering alcoholic.
Summerall qualified for a transplant through blood tests that rank potential recipients anonymously.
Kaldor said Summerall's fame or age have nothing to do with his ranking in the transplant system. He said Summerall has an uncommon blood type, which would have to match a donor.
In 1992, Summerall was persuaded by friends to enter the Betty Ford Center in California.
His wife said the broadcaster has been sober 12 years, but because alcoholism is a progressive disease, damage to his liver made a transplant necessary for survival.
"Alcoholism impacts people in all walks of life, from the homeless to the famous," Cheri Summerall said. "Pat wants everyone who has a problem with alcohol to know there is always hope, and organizations are standing by to help you."
Summerall played in the NFL for 10 years (1952-61) before becoming a broadcaster, then spent more than 40 years in the booth. He teamed with John Madden to call Fox's lead game from 1994-01, and they were the No. 1 team on CBS for 13 seasons before that. The two called eight Super Bowls together and Summerall has called 16.