He popped painkillers like candy and covered his body with a topical gel used on horses when he played professional football. When Walter Payton retired, he took even more painkillers…It was really a rare disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis, which blocked the ducts carrying bile from his liver. It had been diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic in December 1998.
Chicago Sun-Times, by Dave Newbart, 9/29/11
Tags: Sports Medicine