Urban Meyer
PHOTOS: Urban Meyer, of the Florida Gators football team, is stepping down from coaching. The Sugar Bowl will be Meyer's last game. An arachnoid cyst in his brain, and possible heart problems, has prompted his decision.
Florida Gators Coach Urban Meyer, 45, lost consciousness on December 5th. He was taken to the hospital with severe chest pains, and went through a whole round of tests. There was no heart damage at the time, but Meyer took that as a sign from God to step down from coaching because "he felt his current situation was self-destructive," reports the New York Times.
Meyer's decision sent shock waves through the Florida Gators when he told them on Saturday that he was stepping down from coaching. They said they understood and respected his decision. Meyer broke down in tears when breaking the news to his team. The New York Times continues, “I made the decision that had to be made at this time,” Meyer said. “There were all the warning signs. I felt like God was telling me I have to slow down and stop it. When your health flashes before your eyes, what’s before you means more than anything,” he said. “I have a strong faith that there’s a reason for everything, and God has a plan for us. I just don’t know what it is.”
Urban Meyer's Arachnoid Cyst
On December 7th, Sports Illustrated did a whole spread on Meyer's coaching career. They said he suffered from persistent headaches caused by an arachnoid cyst. Doctors diagnosed him with an arachnoid cyst, a congenital condition in which a sac of cerebrospinal fluid forms on the arachnoid membrane covering the brain. The cysts aren't usually life-threatening, but they can swell and cause crippling pain when a person is under intense stress, rage and excitement.
What is an Arachnoid Cyst?
According to Wikipedia, "Arachnoid cysts are cerebrospinal fluid covered by arachnoidal cells and collagen that may develop between the surface of the brain and the cranial base or on the arachnoid membrane, one of the three membranes that cover the brain and the spinal cord. The exact cause of arachnoid cysts is not known. Some complications of arachnoid cysts can occur when a cyst is damaged because of minor head trauma. Trauma can cause the fluid within a cyst to leak into other areas (e.g., subarachnoid space). Blood vessels on the surface of a cyst may tear and bleed into the cyst (intracystic hemorrhage), increasing its size."
Sources: sportsillustrated.cnn.com; huffingtonpost.com; nytimes.com; wikipedia
Photo credit: Florida head coach Urban Meyer walks past a Florida logo in the Georgia Dome before a practice Friday, Dec. 4, 2009, in Atlanta. Florida will face Alabama in the Southeastern Conference Championship game on Saturday in Atlanta . (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Comments
AC's cause much more than just migraines. It can be fatal (at worst) and can cause great pain all over the body, eyesight changes, facial and skull pain, body numbness, etc. similar to stroke, and much, much more. I am saddened to hear that he has an AC but also glad the condition will hopefully become more well-known in the medical community.
Yes, Arachnoid Cysts cause a lot more than migraines, unfortunately. If you are a newly diagnosed Arachnoid cyst patient, feel free to join our community at www.arachnoidcystawareness.com
I am so thankful that other people are speaking out about the AC, it is debilitating. And it almost took my life.
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