Mike Zimmer’s eye problems began when the wind in Chicago blew his clipboard into his eye during a Monday Night Football game at Soldier Field last season.
He was diagnosed with a torn retina, which progressed to a detached retina. Nearly 10 surgeries later he says he’s done with procedures and this is the best his sight is going to get.
How good is his vision? Sitting just feet from ESPN’s Hannah Storm, Zimmer said she was blurry. He can see shapes and light, and his vision will improve once he’s fitted with a special contact lens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFeZIEBA8Ck
Through it all, Zimmer maintained that he’d rather go blind in his right eye than stop coaching, much less miss one practice.
“It was more important to me to take care of the team than it was about my eyesight in my right eye,” Zimmer told Storm. “They’re the rest of my life, too… the players. The fans, the organization. I just feel like I have a lot of responsibility to an awful lot of people. If I can help them anyway possible, then I’m going to do it. I understand the longterm effect and everything, but I still figure I’m going to have one good eye and I’m going to be OK.”
Zimmer cares that much.
“Minnesota Vikings fans deserve to win and win big,” he said. “They’ve been through a lot of different scenarios, a lot of different things and I’m going to give them everything I can.”
