Skip Prosser’s death hits me hard as a Wake Forest fan, a Triad resident and most of all as a survivor. At the risk of sounding like a broken record I ask each and every one of you to go to a doctor and get a complete physical. Even if you don’t have that $20 co-payment, get the physical. Find out if there are any potential health risks.
I’ve had two heart attacks before the age of 43. And I didn’t know until the second one that I had the first one. Two years ago next week, I went to my cardiologist for a regular checkup. He pondered over the EKG and saw something that concerned him. To this day I don’t know what he saw but a nuclear stress test was ordered. I had one done the previous year which showed several blockages still in the 30-35% range, which is where they after a test done after the second heart attack.
The stress test went fine as far as I was concerned. The results showed otherwise and I went in for a cardiac catheterization/angioplasty. There were four major blockages, the 3 worst at 90, 95 and 99%. I was a walking time bomb. I was frankly told I had the arteries of a 70-year old man.
As you know I had bypass surgery and without it, I would not be here today. I was lucky to have a visit with my cardiologist. He has told me that I would not have gotten through the 2005-06 basketball season without another heart attack. It would have been severe, and probably fatal.
I have an appointment Monday afternoon to see him. Again, I implore everyone to get that physical now, don’t wait until you have some symptoms. Don’t try to be a macho man and ignore any symptoms as well. Make that phone call to the doctor tomorrow. We need everyone in Niner Nation for years to come!
My thoughts and prayers are def with his friends, family, and the Wake family.
And HP, we’re all def glad you’re still here. Stay healthy brotha! I will def not let your words be in vain and be sure to watch myself as I get older.
As a lifelong Wake fan, this is very sad. Not so much because he was the coach at Wake, but more so because he was a genuinely great individual.
BTW, we now have 2 condolence threads on the Wake board. I did not see the one started by Gill on the first 3 pages and assumed one did not exist… then I read Gill’s post in this thread.
You were not just a basketball coach, you were a great man who did his best to make boys into great men. I hope the best for his family and his sports family.
I just got back from rolling the quad with some of my friends from wake. quite a good turnout for midnite on a thursday. it was a very somber and sad mood throughout the night. several bball players, fball players and alums like cp3 were there as well. i felt honored to be apart of such a great tribute to a great coach and a great person.
RIP Coach Prosser
"We’ll Miss You Skip" - written out in tp in the quad
Still a shock. Outstanding work done by the folks at the [URL=http://journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ/MGArticle/WSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173352157467&path=&s=][B]Winston-Salem Journal[/B][/URL]. The photos are good but the stories are excellent.
Photos below are by a WF student. I will post more of them later.
I send my prayers to the Wake Forest community and Skip Prosser. I went to high school in Winston-Salem and caught several of his games when I was there. He was one of the best coaches in the ACC and a great person. Wake Forest as always been #2 for me.
I respectfully say this....
but he was not the president of the US or a statesman. He was a sports coach.
sad news for sure,
but I am not understanding all the reverance. I would understand it if he was a legend somewhere for decades- Dean Smith, K, Katy, Pat Summit, etc
I’ve seen alot bigger tragedies in sports the last year, and not near this response.
I think that WF links many fans across this state and even this nation together at least four times a year. Whenever they play UNC or Duke, most of us pull for them to whip some butt. Also, many NNN have links to W-Salem and that town is very unlike Charlotte in their love for their “Crown Jewel” (WF). Also Skip Prosser has always seemed like a really class guy.
I hate to sound cold, but thinking of their bball program, this comes at a really bad time. Middle of recruiting. I would think that a coaching search would wait until end of the season, which may put many recruits up for grabs again. With all the heartache in WF Ath. Dept. I’m sure everyone is sucking it up and busy at work. Of course, I’m also sure their competitors are also.
