I've only met Mr. Courson once, but it was a meeting I'll never forget and one that I think speaks to his high character. Prior to that Christmas Eve in 2017 I only knew him like most Dawg fans do: as the head of our Sports Medicine team with a sterling reputation among his peers. While that day is still the only time I've met him, I can attest he is much more than that.
On that Christmas Eve I found myself in Piedmont Athens Regional. What was supposed to be a holiday season to remember with a trip to the Rose Bowl with my wife and 2 kids was derailed 3 days prior when I underwent an emergency open-heart double bypass. I'm sure my fellow Venters who have endured the same procedure will back my up on this, but those first few days post-op are very uncomfortable (and mostly miserable). For me at least, in addition to the physical discomfort you also experience a range of emotions, and mine centered mostly on feeling sorry for myself for spending Christmas in the hospital, suddenly contemplating my very real mortality, and missing out on the trip to Pasadena.
I needed a pick-me-up. My wife excused herself from the room and left for a couple of minutes before returning and saying, "You have a visitor". I figured it was one of my drunk-ass buddies, and as much as I love 'em I really wasn't in the mood. Imagine my shock when in walked...Ron Courson...bearing a large bag. I was completely gobsmacked...what the hell is he doing here? Turns out that a guy I met while doing stringer work for high school football saw my daughter's updates about my surgery on FB. I won't out him here, but he was a sportswriter for the AJC who had previously worked the Florida beat during McGarrity's term there as Assistant AD. He was well aware of my zealotry for all things Dawgs, and he reached out to McGarrity to see if there was something they could do to life my spirits.
Enter Ron Courson, who not only brought me a bag full of kick-ass Georgia stuff (some of it team issue), but also sat and talked with me for nearly an hour about the Dawgs and all kinds of stuff...on CHRISTMAS EVE. Who takes the time away from their family during the holiday season, especially on Christmas Eve, to visit with a random dude in the hospital that he doesn't know from Adam's housecat?
I tell you who: Ron Courson. It takes a special type of character to do something so selfless, and Ron Courson has class in spades. I don't know if he even remembers that day, but it's one I will never forget.
On that Christmas Eve I found myself in Piedmont Athens Regional. What was supposed to be a holiday season to remember with a trip to the Rose Bowl with my wife and 2 kids was derailed 3 days prior when I underwent an emergency open-heart double bypass. I'm sure my fellow Venters who have endured the same procedure will back my up on this, but those first few days post-op are very uncomfortable (and mostly miserable). For me at least, in addition to the physical discomfort you also experience a range of emotions, and mine centered mostly on feeling sorry for myself for spending Christmas in the hospital, suddenly contemplating my very real mortality, and missing out on the trip to Pasadena.
I needed a pick-me-up. My wife excused herself from the room and left for a couple of minutes before returning and saying, "You have a visitor". I figured it was one of my drunk-ass buddies, and as much as I love 'em I really wasn't in the mood. Imagine my shock when in walked...Ron Courson...bearing a large bag. I was completely gobsmacked...what the hell is he doing here? Turns out that a guy I met while doing stringer work for high school football saw my daughter's updates about my surgery on FB. I won't out him here, but he was a sportswriter for the AJC who had previously worked the Florida beat during McGarrity's term there as Assistant AD. He was well aware of my zealotry for all things Dawgs, and he reached out to McGarrity to see if there was something they could do to life my spirits.
Enter Ron Courson, who not only brought me a bag full of kick-ass Georgia stuff (some of it team issue), but also sat and talked with me for nearly an hour about the Dawgs and all kinds of stuff...on CHRISTMAS EVE. Who takes the time away from their family during the holiday season, especially on Christmas Eve, to visit with a random dude in the hospital that he doesn't know from Adam's housecat?
I tell you who: Ron Courson. It takes a special type of character to do something so selfless, and Ron Courson has class in spades. I don't know if he even remembers that day, but it's one I will never forget.
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