Pat Sajak, host of “Wheel of Fortune,” opens up about having emergency surgery for a blocked intestine a month ago.
In his first interview following the procedure, Sajak admitted to “Good Morning America” that he thought he would pass away just before the operation.
The game show presenter started experiencing “excruciating” pain in November as he went on a morning stroll with his daughter. Hours later, he was set to go into surgery and was twisted over in anguish.
“I was lying on the bed in the fetal position,” he explained. “They try to treat your pain with numerous medications. And none of it – none of it – worked.”
Later, he said, his physicians gave him a medicine that took away his pain.
“All of a sudden, I wasn’t thinking about the discomfort,” he explained. “I just got these amazing pastels and faced flowing out of it.”
“I could hear my wife and daughter talking in the background. They sounded a mile away but were right next to me,” he explained. “They were conversing with one another. And I recall thinking, not morbidly, this must be death. This must be how death feels.’”
He was concerned for his wife and children then and was saddened that they would “have to cope with the fallout,” he said.
Sajak, of course, lived through the procedure, thus his fears of dying were baseless.
“It turns out that I was merely high,” he laughed.
“Good Morning America,” said Sajak’s procedure was “totally successful.”
He claimed that no underlying reason of the intestinal blockage had been found by doctors. He therefore doesn’t need to alter his way of life.
“I’ve been feeling extremely terrific for several weeks,” Sajak explained. “I’ve been back in the studio, doing shows. Even after spinning the wheel, nothing popped. So I believe that is OK.”
Vanna White, Sajak’s longtime co-host, filled in for him while he was recovering. Sajak jokingly said he worries she’ll take over as the main host during the chat.
“I discovered she enjoys hosting, and I’m a little nervous,” he admitted.