MLB
Can surgery cure Bo Jackson of the hiccups?
Hiccups can be annoying and there are multiple traditional cures for it. But when it becomes a chronic condition, more drastic measures are called for.
We have all had hiccups. And we have all tried the traditional “cures.” Drinking a glass of water, holding your breath, and being scared are all among the old wives’ tales for how to stop the hiccup. But for some of us, hiccups are more than simply an occasional annoyance.
Bo Jackson has revealed that he is one of these unlucky few who suffer from chronic hiccups. And now he is going to go under the knife in a bid to get rid of them.
That may sound extreme when you first hear it, but keep in mind the length of time that Jackson has had hiccups. “I’ve had the hiccups since last July,” says Jackson, “and I’m getting a medical procedure done the end of this week, I think, to try to remedy it.”
Last July. Nearly 10 months of hiccups. It is incredible that Bo could put up with it that long.
“I’ve been busy sitting at the hospital sitting up with the doctor’s poking me, shining lights down my throat, probing me every way they can to find out why I’ve got these hiccups. I have done everything: scare me, hang upside down, drink water, smell the ass of a porcupine. It doesn’t work.”
Doctors have not been able to find a cause of Jackson’s hiccups, but chronic hiccups could be an indicator of damage or irritation of the vagus nerve, perhaps indicating a problem with the body’s metabolism. One cure, controversial but effective, is *ahem* digital rectal massage.
Yes. It is exactly what you think.
Bo Jackson is one of the greatest athletes who ever lived, winning the Heisman Trophy while at Auburn University and foregoing the NFL for a career in baseball. Later returning to the NFL fold, Jackson played for four electrifying years with the Los Angeles Raiders, ultimately suffering an injury that would end his NFL career and drastically derail his baseball career as well.
Now 60 years old, Jackson is still the only player to be named to an All-Star team in both MLB and the NFL. Had he stayed away from football, he is generally considered to have been a future baseball hall of famer. As it ended, nothing of his records remain and only a few stories and short snippets of his greatness can be seen these days.
But for those who saw him play, there is no doubt that Bo Jackson will never be replicated. One of a kind.