Former Chicago Bears star Steve McMichael returned home Friday after a rocky eight-day hospital stay, according to multiple media reports.
The 15-year defensive tackle, a stalwart in Chicago for 13 seasons who was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this month, announced three years ago that he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease. He is unable to talk or move on his own.
McMichael, 66, was taken to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, Ill., on Feb. 15 with what led to a urinary tract infection diagnosis, according to NBCSports.com. Antibiotics successfully treated the UTI, but before he was discharged, he contracted an antibiotic-resistant staph infection known as MRSA. That treatment extended his stay to eight days.
McMichael was a three-time All-Pro and twice a Pro Bowl honoree. In his first All-Pro season, 1985, he was among the famed Bears defense that led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title. He is second in Bears history in sacks (92.5) and third in tackles (814).
He was a third-round draft choice of the New England Patriots in 1980 and played sparingly for them before they released him prior to the 1981 season. The Bears signed him as a free agent. He played in 16 games for the Green Bay Packers in 1994, his final NFL season.
McMichael is returning to his around-the-clock care at his home in Homer Glen, Ill., according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
His wife, Misty McMichael, said the goal is for her husband to live “at least ’til Canton,” site of the Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony is scheduled for Aug. 3.
