Almost two weeks after suffering a medical emergency, Columbus Blue Jackets radio play-by-play voice Bob McElligott returned to the airwaves.
McElligott posted a reel to his Instagram ahead of the Blue Jackets game Wednesday night against the New Jersey Devils, providing an update on what happened and where he’s been since December 16th.
He recalled coming home from a road game in Toronto and waking up the next morning with half his tongue swollen. After eventually going to the ER, his whole tongue was swollen. Doctors told McElligott that the swelling could cut off his airway. He remembered things moving fairly quickly at the hospital before being sedated and put on a ventilator for two days.
McElligott said doctors determined he triggered a food allergy.
“It appears that I ingested something that I have an allergy to,” he said. “What that is right now I don’t know. But that’s what triggered this entire outburst.”
He encouraged everyone watching to not wait to get tested for any potential allergies.
“If you’ve ever thought about getting tested for allergies, or getting your kids tested, it might be a good idea,” he said. “Because for over 50 years I thought I was allergic to nothing. But now I guess there is something, and it was pretty bad.”
McElligott has been trying to rest and recover in the meantime. He finished his message by thanking everyone who helped or supported him through the whole endeavor.
“It starts with my wife Kathy, who I call my protector and my hero,” he said. “She gets mad at me for saying that, because she doesn’t feel that she did much. She did so much. She sat by my side that entire time and made sure I was taken care of. There’s no value you can put on that.”
Bob McElligott also thanked the doctors and nurses who he feels saved his life, as well as thanking Blue Jackets management and ownership for their support and making sure his family was taken care of while he was down and out.
“Now with all that being said, I’m gonna give it a go tonight,” McElligott said announcing his return in Newark. He mentioned that his voice was sounding extra raspy because he was coming off the steroid doctors prescribed him and just asked listeners to bear with him as he gets his voice back to normal.
Pregame, intermission, and postgame host Dylan Tyrer called the games in McElligott’s absence.
