Pat Sajak’s daughter reveals the ‘really scary’ moment she found the Wheel of Fortune host writhing in pain from an intestinal blockage – and became his ‘Nurse Ratched’ during recovery from surgery
Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak and his daughter are speaking out about the terrifying moment she found him curled up in unbearable pain before he was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.
Sajak, 73, has been recovering at home after having an operation to fix a blocked intestine in November.
His 25-year-old daughter, Maggie, was with him when the incident occurred and had to help the game show host get to the hospital.
‘It was definitely really scary. I’d like to say I was a trooper at the beginning. I wasn’t,’ she told ABC News in an exclusive that aired on Good Morning America.
‘But I pulled myself together and I’m just so happy he’s back in action and doing what he does.’
Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak, 73 (left), and his daughter, Maggie, 25 (right), had gone on a morning walk the day of his emergency surgery
Sajak (left) said he was suffering ‘horrific pains’ in his stomach when he got home and Maggie (center) found her dad lying in the fetal position on his bed
On the day of the surgery, Sajak and Maggie had gone on a walk early in the morning as they usually do.
When they got back so the host could get ready to go to work, he suddenly felt ‘horrific pains’ in his stomach and doubled over on his bed.
Maggie said she has never seen her dad complain of aches or discomfort before.
‘He’s not a big complainer,’ she told ABC News.
‘I could tell he was taking it seriously. We don’t usually, you know, go into the emergency room for little things.’
Her father joked: ‘I think the fetal position is what gave it away.’
Previously, Sajak said that he was rushed to the hospital with doctors telling him they had to operate immediately or he could risk dying.
He didn’t reveal what caused his intestinal blockage but some of the most common reasons including scarring, hernias or volvulus, which is when a segment of the intestine twists around itself and creates a blockage.
Complications can include sepsis, perforation and ischemia, which is when there is a restriction in blood supply to tissues.
When Sajak returned home to recover, Maggie was there to help.
Maggie rushed him to the hospital, where doctors said they had to perform emergency surgery for a blocked intestine or he could risk dying. Pictured: Sajak (left) with Maggie
Sajak has taken time off from taping Wheel of Fortune, which he has hosted since 1981, as he recovers. In the meantime, his co-host Vanna White, has been covering his duties. Pictured: Sajak and White in the 1990s, left, and in 2019, right
‘Once I got home, she became Nurse Ratched,’ Sajak said in reference to the cold, aggressive character from the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
‘To this day, I don’t think I’m allowed to pick up anything heavier than a pillow.’
Maggie added: ‘Yes, I’m a very strict nurse.’
For the past three weeks, Sajak’s co-host, Vanna White, has been filling in with a rotating cast of letter turners.
But on Monday’s episode, it was Maggie who was turning the letters.
‘It’s bittersweet because obviously, the circumstances, you know, was that my dad couldn’t be there,’ she told ABC News.
On Monday, Maggie stepped in as a letter-turner for the first time (pictured)
Maggie has been taking care of her dad as he recovers and calls herself a ‘very strict nurse’. Pictured: Maggie (left) with her parents Sajak (center) and Lesley Brown in November 2017
Sajak is returning to taping next week.
Sajak began hosting Wheel of Fortune – when the show was a daytime series – in 1981 and left in in 1989 to host his own late-night talk show.
He returned in 1991 when the game show began the prime-time syndicated version it is known as today.
In May 2019, Sajak earned the Guinness World Record of longest-running game show host, surpassing Bob Barker, who hosted The Price is Right from 1972 to 2007.
Sajak has earned three Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host – in 1993, 1997 and 1998.
