Legendary Coach John Madden Undergoes Successful Open-Heart Surgery at UCSF Medical Center

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports on legendary coach John Madden's open-heart surgery performed at UCSF Medical Center on November 30, 2015: 

Pro Football Hall of Fame coach John Madden is "fine and feisty" and already well along the road to a full recovery from open-heart surgery at the UCSF Medical Center on Nov. 30, family sources told The Sports Xchange on Thursday.

Madden moved to an in-patient Oakland rehabilitation facility Wednesday and will reside there the next couple of weeks, but is described as "already well along the road" to a full recovery.

Madden, who will be 80 years old in April, is a football icon who initially made a name as head coach of the fabled Oakland Raiders of the 1970s. He went on to mega stardom as an award winning broadcaster and the man behind the biggest franchise in video gaming, Madden Football.

He closely guarded release of information on the problem that first arose the day before Thanksgiving. He was at home when he first experienced breathing problems. He called a doctor and an ambulance was dispatched to take him to the nearby Pleasanton Valley Care center. After blood tests, and consultation with an "A Team" at UCSF, Madden was transported to the facility in San Francisco, where he underwent the surgery on November 30.

Doctors soon learned about Madden what those who knew him already knew, that he is always in coach mode. As surgery began, the surgeon asked Madden, "Are you ready?" Madden, getting to the heart of the matter, as it were, replied, "What's important is are YOU ready?"