Tennis legend Serena Williams has confronted numerous battles on the courtroom, however one of the vital terrifying moments of her life had nothing to do with tennis. In a deeply emotional reflection, the 23-time Grand Slam champion revealed how the sudden demise of her shut pal, JR Ridinger, introduced again painful reminiscences of her personal near-fatal well being scare.
Ridinger, a profitable entrepreneur and co-founder of Market America, handed away unexpectedly from a blood clot in 2022, simply hours after posting a heartfelt tribute to Williams on social media, celebrating her efficiency at her remaining US Open.
Williams, nonetheless grappling with the emotional weight of his loss, just lately took to social media to specific simply how deeply his passing affected her.
“At my final US Open, an excellent pal of mine JR Ridinger posted his final ever publish right here on Instagram. After all, on the time, none of us knew that it will be his final – but it surely was about me and the way proud he was of me in my remaining event. He had stayed as much as watch me win an ideal battle,” she wrote.
“The following day, I received information that he had handed resulting from a blood clot. This was tremendous triggering to me as a result of I actually nearly died of the identical factor. Solely as a result of it was caught in time. What made me so lucky and never others?”
Serena’s personal life-threatening well being disaster
Williams‘ brush with demise got here in 2018 after she gave beginning to her daughter, Olympia. Though her being pregnant had progressed usually, issues arose throughout labor. Olympia’s coronary heart charge dropped dangerously, forcing medical doctors to carry out an emergency C-section.
Whereas the surgical procedure was successful and Williams was capable of maintain her new child for the primary time, issues rapidly took a flip for the more severe. A pulmonary embolism-life-threatening blood clots within the lungs-struck her once more, making it troublesome for her to breathe.
Resulting from her previous expertise with blood clots in 2011, Williams instantly acknowledged the signs and alerted the hospital employees.
Her fast pondering in the end saved her life, however the ordeal wasn’t over. Williams’ C-section wound later reopened resulting from heavy coughing, resulting in additional issues. Medical doctors then found a big hematoma in her stomach, requiring a number of surgical procedures.
The tennis icon was bedridden for six weeks, unable to correctly take care of her new child. The expertise left her deeply shaken, and the tragic lack of JR Ridinger solely bolstered how fragile life actually is.
