Ordinarily when a young athlete has his career interrupted for heart surgery it’s a bad thing.
Brian Vickers looks at his situation in another way: “I have a new appreciation for life,” he told reporters in Bristol on Saturday afternoon.
Vickers, 26, the first Red Bull Racing team driver, had to stop racing earlier this year when doctors found potentially fatal blood clots after he complained of chest pains.
There was no family history of clots so he said that he will “probably never know” the source of the problem.
The young driver made it clear that he’d rather have heart surgery than do nothing. "I'd rather die than have a stroke. I don't want to live like a vegetable. Let's do it," he said.
On July 12th he had surgery to close a hole in the left atrium and a stent was placed in a leg vein to attempt to fix his condition.
“I got really lucky,” Vickers said. "I've been given a gift. Time to look back at a lot of things in my career. I won't change a lot when I come back, but I'll change some."
He said that he’ll be off the blood thinners by January next year and ready to race. “I will be racing next year.”
Doctors told Vickers that he is “in the best shape [he's] ever been in [his] life.”
Brian Vickers looks at his situation in another way: “I have a new appreciation for life,” he told reporters in Bristol on Saturday afternoon.
Vickers, 26, the first Red Bull Racing team driver, had to stop racing earlier this year when doctors found potentially fatal blood clots after he complained of chest pains.
There was no family history of clots so he said that he will “probably never know” the source of the problem.
The young driver made it clear that he’d rather have heart surgery than do nothing. "I'd rather die than have a stroke. I don't want to live like a vegetable. Let's do it," he said.
On July 12th he had surgery to close a hole in the left atrium and a stent was placed in a leg vein to attempt to fix his condition.
“I got really lucky,” Vickers said. "I've been given a gift. Time to look back at a lot of things in my career. I won't change a lot when I come back, but I'll change some."
He said that he’ll be off the blood thinners by January next year and ready to race. “I will be racing next year.”
Doctors told Vickers that he is “in the best shape [he's] ever been in [his] life.”