Sonny Bill reveals brush with death, open-heart surgery in extraordinary video
Updated . First published
Sonny Bill Williams has revealed he recently underwent open-heart surgery in an emotional 24-minute video posted on YouTube.
Williams said a serious heart defect that he had been born with was discovered during a routine follow-up appointment from neck surgery.
Sonny Bill Williams. YouTube
“So, if I didn’t go in and get it checked, they wouldn’t know. And it’s a case of a perfectly healthy looking person, dropping dead,” Williams said.
The 41-year-old New Zealander is a retired rugby and league champion who now lives in Sydney.
He has also enjoyed a successful professional boxing career, with his most recent bout coming against Paul Gallen last year.
Williams documented his open-heart surgery journey along with wife Alana in a video titled ‘My Heart Stopped.’
The proud Muslim man spoke about having to share his will requests with his religious leaders before the surgery.
“I just said bye to my husband. It’s a little bit daunting, but he’s so strong. He’ll be OK,” Alana said.
Indeed, the surgery at Royal Melbourne Hospital was successful.
“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Day two, honestly, I thought I wasn’t going to make it. It was crazy,” the father of five said.
“I’m so grateful. The doctor I seen this morning, he’s just told me that having this heart implication throughout my life would have implicated me and my sporting career. And upon reflecting, I feel like towards my late-20s, I definitely felt like I couldn’t get as fit as I used to...
“The doctors both said that it’s a miracle that you found it because it’s a case of a perfectly fit looking person dropping dead. Because my heart was 7.5 centimetres, it was about to pop as the doctors said. Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God).
“And now, the doctors said that I’ve got a better heart than when I walked in here because it’s more efficient now. The magnitude of the surgery, two open-heart surgeries in one, and it’s been so successful.”
Williams said he started having hallucinations after the surgery.
“That’s when I honestly felt like I didn’t know if I was going to make it,” he said.
Williams also recorded conversation with his surgeon Dr Michael O’Keefe.
O’Keefe said Williams had undergone a Ross procedure for his aortic valve.
“It’s a procedure where we replace your aortic valve with your own pulmonary valve,” he explained.
“It’s one of the only operations in cardiac surgery we do that puts you back on a normal life expectancy curve...
“It’s basically a donated human organ. The pulmonary valve doesn’t have viable cells in it so there’s no rejection or anything like that. But it does cause a bit of an inflammatory response and that’s why you’re feeling like you’ve been whacked by a truck.”
Sonny Bill Williams gives his medal to a young fan. Getty
Williams asked O’Keefe whether the heart issue would have been a hindrance to his legendary sporting career, which featured two Rugby World Cup titles and two NRL premierships.
“Definitely the fact that you did so well at such a high level just goes to show you how fit you must have been to be able to compensate for it,” he replied.
“You’ve been playing with a handicap which you haven’t realised for a long time.“
