(Sports Spectrum) Albert Haynesworth, once a dominating force along NFL defensive lines, felt powerless.
It was less than a decade after a football career that saw him reach two Pro Bowls with the Tennessee Titans, be named the 2008 Sporting News Defensive Player of the Year, and become the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history for a time. Haynesworth was coughing uncontrollably, his oxygen levels were low and his stomach had swelled significantly. His kidneys were failing.
“I couldn’t breathe,” he told The Athletic recently. “I couldn’t lay down. I felt like I was drowning lying in a bed. I had to sit up in bed, tried to sleep that way. I couldn’t catch my breath. I drove myself to the hospital. My kidneys were shutting down.”