Ed Orgeron once joked he’d rather die on a football field than go to a hospital. In August, however, that remark nearly became reality. The former LSU coach spent 18 days hospitalized with life-threatening sepsis after falling ill during practice. Now, the 65-year-old, in a conversation with Our Lady of the Lake Health, the same place he was admitted, shared just how close he came to death.

“I was about to die, and they saved my life,” Orgeron said on Thursday. “First of all, I’m very happy to be here. Dr. Katie’s here, Bud’s here, all the people who helped me live that night. I was about to die, and they saved my life. And I’m very, very grateful for that.

“Not only that night, but all through my recovery. These guys have been great,” he said, recalling the times when he was battling a serious infection, which kept him away from LSU preseason practice. And it was only because of his doctors that he was able to get back to traveling with the LSU football team by October. 

His appreciation, however,  went well beyond the initial emergency. Orgeron described how members of the medical team continued helping him after leaving the hospital, even making visits to his home over the weekend. He also recalled a doctor making special arrangements on a Sunday so he could have his dressing changed. “These guys are unbelievable,” Orgeron said. “They go far, and beyond. I’m happy to be here.”

The health scare began during LSU’s preseason practice, when Orgeron became ill but continued working until head coach Lane Kiffin sent him home. He was subsequently hospitalized for sepsis, a potentially life-threatening condition in which the body’s response to an infection can damage its own organs. Orgeron spent 18 consecutive days in the hospital fighting for his life. It kept him away from the program for part of fall camp and LSU’s opening two games. During his September 14 media availability, Kiffin acknowledged the seriousness of the situation without disclosing the medical details.

“He’s doing better. It was a little bit scary. I’m not going to get into the details with that,” Kiffin said. The head coach then recalled Orgeron’s stubborn attitude toward seeking medical attention. “He said, ‘Hey coach, you know I’m never going to the hospital, man. If I die, I’m dying on that field out there.’ So that’s who he is, that’s how he is with everything, and sometimes that’s not the best thing to follow.”

Thankfully, by mid-September, Orgeron had returned to LSU’s football operations building.
He also resumed recruiting duties, visiting New Orleans in early October to watch Edna Karr face Brother Martin as LSU pursued wide receiver Easton Royal, a Texas commit. His return to game-day activities took longer. Orgeron watched LSU’s victory over McNeese State from a suite in Tiger Stadium before joining the team for its October 10 trip to Kentucky, his first road trip since the illness. 

On October 24, he was spotted on the sideline using a cane before LSU’s game against Auburn. FootballScoop reported that he appeared to still be using one in Thursday’s hospital video.

Orgeron had returned to LSU in May as a special assistant to recruiting and defense, reuniting with Kiffin after their previous coaching connections at USC and Tennessee. Before his illness, he had also worked with the Tigers’ defensive linemen during preseason camp. The appointment marked another chapter at the university where Orgeron led LSU to an undefeated season and the 2019 national championship.

But truth be told, his wife, Kelly Orgeron, was the one who taught him how to fight. After all, she went through a similar ordeal back in 2018.

Kelly Orgeron demonstrated strength!
The hospital room was quiet, but Kelly’s pain was impossible to ignore. Sometime in 2018, she lay on white sheets as the pain in her stomach continued to worsen. An infection in her lower abdomen had become serious enough to require surgery. Her doctor then pulled Ed Orgeron aside and spoke in a hushed voice, careful not to alarm Kelly with what he had to say. The news was grim. Her condition was not looking good.

Kelly Orgeron was no stranger to the operating room. Her scoliosis had put her through numerous surgeries over the years, but this time, the stakes were far higher. During an earlier procedure to place rods and screws in her back and hips, a surgeon had accidentally nicked her colon. Four days later, her blood pressure plunged to dangerous levels. Ed Orgeron knew something was seriously wrong and called the doctor.

The infection had turned into sepsis, and it was spreading fast. Kelly had come close to dying from it in 2018. But she made it through, enduring one surgery after another. Ed watched her fight her way back, and when he found himself facing a battle of his own, that memory gave him hope. He had seen firsthand what it looked like to keep fighting when things seemed darkest.

Now, with his own health improving enough for him to return to team activities, he’s looking forward to Saturday’s rivalry game.

Ed Orgeron is excited about the future:
“I’m excited about our game on Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Central Standard Time,” he said. “The LSU Fighting Tigers versus Alabama Crimson Tide.”

LSU enters the November 7 matchup at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in SEC play following a 38-17 victory over Auburn. Alabama also stands at 6-2, with a 4-2 conference record after defeating Texas A&M 31-20.

The game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT at Tiger Stadium and air on ABC. According to LSU Athletics, it will be the first daytime LSU-Alabama kickoff in Baton Rouge since 2010, when the Tigers defeated the Crimson Tide 24-21.

For Orgeron, simply being back around the program after a life-threatening illness gives Saturday’s game a different significance.