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VANCE JOHNSON LESS THAN 2 YEARS AGO
Vance Johnson posted this picture today on his Facebook page of him in a coma, a result of his alcohol addiction (Vance Johnson picture)
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VANCE JOHNSON TODAY
Vance Johnson today looking like he can still play a few more downs at age 51 (Vance Johnson picture)
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Vance Johnson‘s story of recovery from depression and addiction to alcohol surfaced earlier this year at the Super Bowl in New York City when his former team, the Denver Broncos, participated.
Just like the joyful days of the Three Amigos, the Broncos returned to football’s grandest stage. Johnson, looking like he could still play the game at 50 then (he turned 51 in March), was vibrant again just like his former team.
Although Johnson’s inspiring story of his recovery from addiction became known, nobody except his close family and friends realized the severity of his ordeal until Wednesday. Johnson, a former Cholla High School and Arizona Wildcats star football player, published on his Facebook page a stomach-turning photo of him on a hospital bed in a coma with tubes coming out of his nose and spread over his abdomen.
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“Well, here I am, tubes in my body for feces, And a catheter for urinating,” Johnson writes. “I will tell you of the visions of shadows walking in the room as if to take me once I moved on from this world….I’ll share the out of body experiences and going to other floors and seeing patients and doctors or nurses conversation, and I’ll share when I did come to how I hallucinated and what I saw.
“The embarrassment of being washed and wiped after crapping myself. That’s enough, I was considering not posting this story, so I better before I change my mind.”
Johnson is telling his story for now on his Facebook page about how his faith and support from his family and counselor Randy Grimes has turned his life around. Johnson is making his recovery at Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches in North Palm Beach, Florida. Grimes, a center from 1983-92 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is an interventionist at Behavioral Health.
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An inspirational figure because of his ability to overcome a dangerous addiction to painkillers, Grimes is making what is hopefully a lasting mark on Johnson’s life. Grimes posted this message on Johnson’s Facebook page beneath the picture of Johnson in a coma on what Johnson called his “death bed”:
“The fact that WE have suffered addiction does not define US as men, but what WE do from this point on WILL! VERY PROUD OF YOU Vance Johnson. Your brokenness, gratitude, humility and surrender will carry you through each day. We have much to do my brother….one day at a time. Thank you for allowing me to be part of your journey! #GodisGood #recoveryworks”
The highs and lows in Johnson’s life are so dramatic, it’s a testament to his character that he appears to be as strong as ever emotionally and physically.
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Vance Johnson during his “Three Amigos” days with the Denver Broncos (Ricky Nattiel and Mark Jackson were the others)
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He is not only recovering from his addiction but he is also trying to deliver a message of hope to others. In one video posted on his Facebook (he calls it “Faithbook”) wall, Johnson states: “Many of us live with people with addictive behaviors and I am coming out about it because I know there is hope and help out there.”
Johnson’s personal problems were in the public arena because he was as an 11-year NFL veteran following his second-round draft choice in 1985 out of Arizona.
He appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1996, a year after his NFL career came to an end, to discuss his abusive past of his estranged wife and others. He appeared again on Winfrey’s show in 2011 to discuss what he learned from his experience 15 years prior.
In the meantime, Johnson’s son, Vaughn Johnson, died in 2007 while riding a motorcycle, hit by a drunk driver who ran a stop sign. Vance was arrested two years later for not appearing for a court hearing and for allegedly failing to give his estranged wife $36,500 in a divorce case.
Ten-year NFL veteran Randy Grimes, who was addicted to painkillers, has been a positive influence on Vance Johnson at Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches in North Palm Beach, Fla.
One of Vance’s restaurants in Grand Junction, Colo. — the Epicurious — abruptly closed in November 2012 after operating less than six months. A note taped on the restaurant’s window read, “We want to thank you for your support and patronage. We are being led in another direction. God bless.”
Judging from Johnson’s interview in the Denver Post this January, the closing of Epicurious was about the time that his addiction to alcohol almost caused him to die. That’s about when he went into coma.
“Last year I had a chance to go, and here I am now, loving life, really enjoying it now, while knowing that there’s something better than what I was doing, and that was trying to kill myself,” Johnson said in the Jan. 28, 2014, interview with the Denver Post.
Johnson’s resurgence from his darkest of dark days to now is as uplifting as any story that can be told. Expect to read about it in all the national newspapers and watch it on TV shows such as CBS’s “60 Minutes”, HBO’s “Real Sports” or ESPN’s “30 For 30”. A Hollywood script should be in the works. Johnson wanted to alert his Facebook friends first about the depths from where he has emerged.
“I’ve been a little reluctant about posting the photo of me in the coma,” Johnson writes. “The Denver Broncos don’t know the Colorado press doesn’t know, in fact the nation doesn’t even know and has not seen this photo. Many of you may decide to share this with love ones on Facebook and even the Denver Broncos, or even the Colorado press which I’m sure after they receive it may have a ton of questions…
“Help me reach others with this hope story, help me help others with the insanity by sharing how far I have fallen, and in this spirit led freedom am now able to give back. Special Thanks to Randy Grimes former Tampa Bay buccaneer, who saved my life through his story of recovery, Thanks for reaching out brother. God bless.”
Vance Johnson’s Facebook wall has some photos of him working out and getting stronger with words from scripture included (Vance Johnson picture)
Johnson is still on the road to recovery, posting his Facebook material from the Behavioral Health facility in North Palm Beach.
“I’m an addict,” he said in one video on Facebook. “I almost died because of my problem with alcohol. I found myself in a hospital with a coma. My family was saying their goodbyes. A picture of me sitting there in the bed in that coma my sister took of me … on her way out, basically I guess to say good bye.
“Walk with me in this battle to end addiction. Basically, it starts with recovery. Anything in life, even when you’re playing an athletic sport, when you find yourself having an injury, it’s about recovery. It takes time, one step at a time. … Walk in recovery from addiction. We all have it. We all know there is freedom.”
ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He also writes articles for Bleacher Report and Lindy’s College Sports.
