97.1 The Ticket -- For parts of three decades, Dan Patrick has been a staple in American sports.
Patrick spent 17 years as an anchor on ESPN's SportsCenter, where he and Keith Olbermann termed the catchphrase "This Is SportsCenter." He has had his radio show, The Dan Patrick Show, televised on NBC Sports Network for several years since leaving ESPN, and hosted NBC's "Football Night In America" on Sunday nights for the last decade.
On Thursday, Patrick opened up about his personal health and the effects it has had on his career over the last seven years. He said he has been battling polymyalgia rheumatica, which causes intense joint pain, for seven years. After searching for relief, Patrick was placed on the steroid prednisone, which he says caused him to suffer from memory loss. Patrick alikened the disease to having the flu, without being nauseous.
After years of suffering, Patrick has begun light chemotherapy treatment at a hospital for special surgeries in New York, which has also caused "brain fog."
"There are moments on this show when I have had memory loss and I’ll tell you what it’s due to," Patrick said. "There are times when I feel like my mind and my mouth are not working together and I think you’ve come to expect me to perform at a high level."
Dan opened up about some personal health news on the show today. We love you DP. pic.twitter.com/wjnWFqm1zS
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow)
May 2, 2019 Patrick thanked the staff on his radio show, affectionately known as "the Danettes," for putting up with and helping him along his journey. He couldn't remember Albert Pujols's name last week and had to get help from the Danettes, something he's often done over the last seven years.
He said there were times when he had suicidal thoughts because the pain was so bad.
"I've been holding a secret," Patrick said. "We move forward and five more months of this, hopefully, then they said I'll be done with these treatments. And boy, I'll be a joy to be around then, won't I?"
