By Bond Robertson 
Patrick Sjöberg (56 years old) is not even one year old. The Swedish Olympic champion fell seriously ill in March. Sjöberg was admitted to the intensive care unit for one month after developing pneumonia and septicemia.
After discharge from the hospital, a new relapse occurred – and a new hospital stay was the next. Now the 56-year-old is opening up about the rough time – which almost cost him his life.
Our son does not feel pain
– I’m glad I woke up. Some days it’s a reasonably good feeling, while other days it’s a struggle. Sjöberg tells Swedish that it has to do with the fact that I recovered the bacteria that settled in my lower back Aftonbladet.
– It will take a year
In April, Sjoberg posted scary photos on social media from his hospital stay. He wrote on Instagram about the brutal experience, in which he lost weight, among other things. Sjöberg now says it will take a year before he gets back to normal.
It will take up to a year to return. I would have died six hours if I had not gone to the hospital in time. I was absolutely convinced that it was Corona and that I could solve it with sleep and water. Then the body began to fail. I couldn’t go to the toilet, had to drag myself in there and my whole body was hurt.
After being discharged from the hospital, Sjöberg had to receive treatment again two weeks later.
He wrote in a letter to express.
Worthy
The 56-year-old is among the biggest stars in Swedish athletics ever. He is the only high jumper to have won three Olympic medals, and in 1987 he set a world record with 2.42 during a competition in Stockholm.
After his career, he wrote a book about his difficult upbringing with sexual abuse from his coach and stepfather, and was a sought-after speaker. In the fall of 2019, he took a break after many years of alcohol and drug abuse issues, something he was open about.
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Sjöberg says he has now been without alcohol for more than 600 days.
The idea wasn’t that I should quit forever, and I don’t know if that was fine either. Today, I just didn’t suck it up.
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