Sonny Bill Williams feared he would die after emergency heart surgery
Former NRL and All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams has shared his experience surviving emergency open-heart surgery for a congenital condition. He revealed that the surgery was successful and that he feels physically better than he did during his professional career.
Why it matters
The story highlights the importance of routine health screenings and the physical toll professional sports can take on athletes.
Former NRL star and All Blacks midfielder Sonny Bill Williams has revealed he thought he was going to die after emergency open-heart surgery.
The 41-year-old posted a 24-minute video to his YouTube page last night that highlighted his ordeal to treat a heart condition he was born with, which was discovered during a routine follow-up appointment from neck surgery this year .
The video, titled My Heart Stopped , had amassed more than 10,000 views in two hours of being published, and a social media post from Williams has received numerous messages of support, including All Blacks players Beauden Barrett, Ardie Savea and Rieko Ioane.
One of the most shocking parts of the video comes during an interaction with his surgeon, Dr Michael O’Keefe, who told Williams that the condition had given him a “handicap” during his sporting career, which highlights how fit he must have been during his peak.
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