IndyCar star Pato O’Ward recently revealed that he had suffered a life-threatening health condition as a baby. During his professional IndyCar career, the Arrow McLaren driver hasn’t been one who’s made headlines about any major injuries or health issues.
However, in a recent appearance on the “Red Flags” podcast ahead of IndyCar’s inaugural Arlington Grand Prix, O’Ward spoke about a specific health concern that required surgery when he was an infant. The format of the podcast was the hosts showing him different photos of himself from different points in his life, and he would share the memories that the photos brought back.
The first photo was of him as a child. Reacting to it, Pato O’Ward said:
“It was probably almost… right before then, I almost died actually (laughs). I have a scar here (points to lower abdomen), and I had a pretty important surgery. In Spanish, it’s called ‘piloro’ (pylorus in English). Basically, everything that I was having food-wise, it would just come back. So I wasn’t actually getting any nutrients. Maybe that’s probably why I’m a little cuckoo. But yeah, that means I’m alive! And I was good, and I was ready to start living.”
The pylorus is the term used to refer to the lower part of the stomach that connects to the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine. The condition that the Arrow McLaren driver described matches pyloric stenosis, which typically affects infants, wherein the opening between the stomach and the small intestine narrows, not allowing food to pass through. It is treatable by surgery, as was the case with Pato O’Ward.
“I was really, really young, not even close to a year. It was just a couple of months, I would say,” the IndyCar driver added.
The only other time Pato O’Ward made headlines about an illness
Pato O’Ward made headlines when he fell ill during F1’s Mexico Grand Prix race weekend in October last year. The 25-year-old Mexican, who was completing reserve driver duties for McLaren by testing Lando Norris’ car in FP1, had food poisoning.
After the hour-long practice session, where he completed 30 laps, O’Ward’s condition worsened. He had severe diarrhea, was dehydrated, and had stomach pain. The team took him to the medical center inside the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit, where he was treated with IV fluids and received medication for the stomach pain.
In an X post after some recovery, O’Ward thanked his fans for the messages of love and support. He wrote:
“Here we gooo. Your messages and support today are appreciated ❤️🩹❤️🩹”
On the IndyCar front, Pato O’Ward is gearing up for the Arlington Grand Prix, which is a home race of sorts for him. The Mexican driver had moved to Texas when he was 11 and also attended high school in the state. Moreover, his first IndyCar win was at Texas Motor Speedway in 2021, and this race weekend at the new Arlington street track is very special for him.
Edited by Yash Kotak