Will Bribiescas from Arizona shares his incredible story on his triumph return back to the hardwood in our next segment of our Never Retire stories.

In 2021 I was reffing a semi-pro women’s game and passed out at the end of the game in the locker room.  I thought it may have been just due to dehydration or over exertion since I reffed about 12 games that weekend.  I’d never passed out before like that, and the next thing I know I’m at the doctor and I was diagnosed with COVID-19 with pneumonia. 

After the diagnosis, I was in the ICU for 9 days while on oxygen.  Approximately less than a week after I got discharged, on 6/2/2021, I was at home and felt like I still could not breathe.  I ultimately went back to the hospital. 

While in the hospital I felt extreme pain and tightness in my chest.  I screamed and yelled for help.  The doctor came in and said they were going to have to put some dye into an IV to look inside my heart.  When the results came back, I was shocked. 

The doctor said what I just experienced was a heart attack and that the results of the dye-test showed that 3 of my 4 arteries were 99% blocked and I would have to have immediate open-heart triple bypass surgery.  So immediately I was flown via helicopter from Gilbert Mercy Hospital to Phoenix and they were going to have to take 3 arteries, one from my arm, one from my leg, and one from my chest to    re-route my blood to go to my heart to allow me to breathe normally again. 

After the surgery, the doctor said I was lucky to be alive, and that I would have to take it easy and take my time walking again and strengthen my lungs by doing breathing exercises, since when they opened my chest up, they had to deflate my lungs and re-inflate them again after the procedure.  Without a doubt, it was the most difficult thing I ever had gone through in my life, and I was only 40 years old. 

I never thought I would ref again, and the doctor told me that depending on my rehab, it could be a year to recover just to get back to “semi-normal”.  I was told I couldn’t lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk, and that I had to take medicine for my heart, cholesterol, and to avoid getting blood clots for pretty much the rest of my life.  Reffing was the furthest thing from my mind.  I even told the directors of both AIA and CAA where I do high school officiating that in November when basketball started, I would have to take the year off since there was little to no hope, that I would mentally and physically recover from this surgery in a mere 4-5 months.  The thought itself devastated me, but also my finances as well since refereeing is not only a passion, it’s a means of income to help support my family.

After doing some soul searching, and leaning on my Faith, I told myself I was not missing this season.  I visualized missing games and watching from afar, and struggling to make ends meet, and that was a reality I did not want to come to fruition.  So, I ate right, listened to my doctors, and continued to pray.  When October came for my follow up, I got the clearance from my cardiologist that I was able to run and participate in officiating duties and contacted AIA and CAA and committed to reffing the 2021-22 season.  I wasn’t fully back to 100%, but I felt I had the whole season to ramp up not to mention the fact that I kept my promise to myself, and I was able to referee that season. 

That mentality and internal drive to make that season happen stays with me every day.  It’s what allows me to appreciate and not take for granted everything I have in my life.  Refereeing isn’t the most important thing in my life, but it’s a part of me, and a part of my journey. It made me want to heal as fast as I could to get back to do what I love doing.  It also drove me to want more and dig deeper to be a better official and do bigger games and in tough environments that not a lot of refs can do or want to do. 

My outlook is that this whole ordeal was the biggest obstacle one can have in life, and if I can overcome that, then the actual game itself, the coaches, the players, the fans, that’s just icing on the proverbial cake, and I already blew out the candle.

Thank you for allowing me to share my story and whoever is reading this, please know whatever obstacles come in your path, the road can be as narrow as you make it, but easily just as wide.

“Don’t give up, don’t ever give up.”- Jim Valvano- former NCAA champion Head Coach- NC State

God Bless,

Will Bribiescas