Arizona Cardinals QB Coach Freddie Kitchens Released From Hospital
By Josh Sanchez
There is some good news to report today regarding the Arizona Cardinals coaching staff. It was just last week quarterbacks coach Freddie Kitchens had to be taken to the hospital where he learned that he would need to undergo immediate surgery to repair a defect in his aorta. It is certainly a scary thing when you have to go under the knife for any surgery, let alone heart surgery, but thankfully Kitchens was able to recover and be released from the hospital today.
Kitchens credits the Cardinals medical staff for their help, along with the staff at Arizona Heart Hospital in a statement issued through the team. Kitchens cannot immediate return to the field, so he will finish his recovery from home.
“There are so many people that I’ll be indebted to for the rest of my life and ‘thank you’ just doesn’t seem near enough,” Kitchens said in the statement.
“Looking back, I have no doubt — none whatsoever — that I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the those people. I’ve played or coached football my whole life so I can definitely appreciate teamwork and a smooth, efficient operation but the work those doctors, nurses and medical personnel do is just incredible. Again, I wouldn’t be alive without them. I’m overwhelmed by the prayers and kindness everyone has sent my way; from the Cardinals, throughout the NFL, in Arizona, Alabama and everywhere else. I realize how truly fortunate I am and the blessing I have been given.”
Kitchens is expected to return to the team during training camp, and you can be sure that his return will provide an emotional boost to that team and his resilience this offseason could prove as an inspiration for the team entering the season.