Walt Wells (Eastern Kentucky Athletics Photo)
Liam Coen’s medical episode Sunday reminded me of a question Centre College junior basketball player Bailey Rucker asked Eastern Kentucky head football coach Walt Wells during our weekly show on WPBK-FM last week.
Wells suffered a heart attack at the EKU football offices and had to be revived twice. Rucker wondered what impact that had on his players when he returned to coaching since UK players will face similar emotions when Coen is back.
“When all that went down, I was in the facility and the defense was here working out. The offense was in the training room,” Wells said. “The reality of everything came pretty quick. Unfortunately, they (players) saw the severity of the situation with the trainers and CPR being performed in my office and then came the ambulance.
“They figured out quickly that something bad happened. When they were bringing me down (to the ambulance) I went out again and they had a full view of that.”
He said not only was it difficult for his wife and daughter emotionally to react to what went on but it also impacted his players.
“The majority of them had never seen anything like that,” Wells said.
Wells was back in the office the next week after watching the season-opening game on TV. He attended the second game when Eastern beat Bowling Green in seven overtimes and did talk to his team after the game. His cardiologist gave him his release the night before that game and he rode in a friend’s car to Detroit for the game.
He was back at work the next week and returned to the sidelines.
“I am not the smartest guy in the world and my wife was not happy (when he went back to work),” Wells said. “I was on a golf cart most of the week (at practice). I had broken ribs and a cracked sternum from the treatment I got that saved my life. Even to this day I get numbness in my chest because of the shocks I took. But I was blessed by the Good Lord. For whatever reason God picked me and I am very glad he did.
“But I know it was hard on my players and family. I just tried to be very aware of that and very open with them because I know they were worried about me.”
Based on UK coach Mark Stoops’ reaction earlier this week to Coen’s episode, the UK coaches and players obviously have been worried about Coen and now will have to find their own ways to cope with that anxiety the rest of the season.
