Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is recovering from emergency surgery after taking a fall on Sunday. It was the first day of his vacation.
Giuliani, 73, and his wife, Judith, were hosting friends at their home on Long Island when Giuliani’s knee buckled, unable to support his weight.
Giuliani told Page Six, “I was a catcher from a very young age, and I have suffered with ‘catcher’s knee’ for years.” Baseball catchers have notoriously weakened knees due to the dozens of deep knee bends required of them each game.
“[T]he doctors said it would deteriorate,” said Giuliani after his quadriceps tendon surgery.
Fortunately for Giuliani, Judith, a trained nurse, witnessed the fall and her experience told her that the unnatural buckle in her husband’s knee was a sign that he needed medical attention.
“I tried to get up but Judith ordered me not to move. If it hadn’t been for her, the injury would have been a lot worse. I now call her ‘Nurse Nancy.’ I swear to God, it was my first day of vacation and we’d planned to play a lot of golf. I don’t think I will be playing golf for a few weeks,” Giuliani told Page Six.
Judith concurred, saying “It is a good thing that I am a trained nurse.”
Judith made a jest at her husband’s strong-willed character.
“Our guests wanted to pick him up—he’s a tough guy and he wanted to get up—and I said he should not move. It was an instant red flag. When I looked at the limb, I knew if he got up, it would just do more damage. Rudy had to have surgery right away.”
According to Judith, Giuliani will be hospital for a few more days and may have to rely on crutches for a while, “but he’s in great spirits. He is the eternal optimist.”
Giuliani told Page Six, “I am already up and limping around. I’m a tough guy, so this isn’t going to stop me.”
His wife confirmed that Giuliani is already back doing what he loves, “Of course, he’s already working from his hospital bed, he’s got the computers going, two phones, a couple of iPads and a Kindle. He’s not by any means down for the count.”
Giuliani is best known for his leadership through the trying days of the September 11 attacks, for which he was named Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2001. Before his time as NYC Mayor, he was a ‘crime-busting’ prosecutor successfully battling the Mafia. In his teenage years, Giuliani also wielded significant influence, using his charisma to convince boys who had no real interest in opera to join his opera club.
