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Former Alouettes guard, 40, who was part of consecutive Grey Cup championship teams in 2009-10, suffered a torn aorta last month.
Author of the article:
Montreal Gazette
Montreal Gazette
Herb Zurkowsky
Published Jun 27, 2025 • Last updated 0 minutes ago • 4 minute read
Alouettes offensive lineman Andrew Woodruff, centre, blocks Toronto Argonauts' Armond Armstead while protecting quarterback Anthony Calvillo, right, in Montreal on Sept. 23, 2012. Woodruff, 40, suffered a torn aorta on May 13, 2025, and needed life-threatening heart surgery.
Alouettes offensive lineman Andrew Woodruff, centre, blocks Toronto Argonauts' Armond Armstead while protecting quarterback Anthony Calvillo, right, in Montreal on Sept. 23, 2012. Woodruff, 40, suffered a torn aorta on May 13, 2025, and needed life-threatening heart surgery. John Mahoney/Montreal Gazette
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Former Alouettes guard Andrew Woodruff knew something was seriously wrong as soon as he saw the look on the doctor’s face.
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A CT scan had revealed his aorta had ruptured and was torn. His life was in danger and he was only 40, with a wife and 8-year-old son at home. Open-heart surgery was immediately required. Among the many thoughts racing through Woodruff’s mind in the minutes ahead, one was paramount:
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“I’m not going to die today. I’m not going out like this. I’m not dying early,” Woodruff told The Gazette in an emotional, honest and therapeutic 45-minute phone conversation this week from his home in Meridian, Idaho.
Although there’s no history of heart disease in his family, Woodruff, who played for the Alouettes from 2009-13, suffered a Stanford Type A aortic dissection — a tear in the aorta’s inner lining closest to the heart — on May 13, less than a week following his birthday. The condition, which affects only three out of 100,000 people annually, could have been caused from the years of punishment Woodruff’s chest endured blocking defenders, both in the CFL and at Boise State.
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Woodruff admitted he pondered life and death while waiting for surgery, and was certainly aware the latter could occur. He remembered being strangely at peace with the thought, knowing it made no sense. But Woodruff wasn’t panicking, despite years of being stressed and anxious as a pro football player.
“I had to accept the situation,” he said. “What was I going to do? I knew dying wasn’t going to be something I was going to accept that day. I got that out of my head and focused on living. What do I need to do to stay alive?”
After being taken into the surgery suite at St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center, Woodruff was advised by cardiac surgeon Dr. Rachel Heneghan there was a 20-per-cent chance he wouldn’t survive. But that meant the odds were in his favour. While now overcome with emotion, Woodruff’s message to the medical team was clear:
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“We need to go do this because I’m not dying today,” he told them. “To see all the staff, it really hit me. This is really happening. I have my parachute. It’s going to open or not, and I’ve got to jump.”
The surgery lasted eight hours, Woodruff was told. With a tube down his throat, he remembers briefly awakening midway through the procedure — halftime for a football player — before his chest was closed.
Woodruff was in an induced medical coma for 36 hours following surgery before being discharged a week later, knowing he had flirted with death.
“I shouldn’t have been alive,” Woodruff admitted. “Without medical treatment, most die within 24 hours. I really felt like I knew what I was going to do with my life. Then I hit 40 and almost died. My life is (now) completely different.”
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A 12-inch scar running down his chest will serve as a constant reminder for Woodruff. Passing the time at home these last few weeks has been challenging. The 6-foot-3, 300 pounder has been told to rest as much as possible. He can’t lift any objects more than 10 pounds for three months; can’t lay on his stomach; can’t open doors. His diet will now drastically change — no red meat — and he has been told to lose between 50 to 60 pounds. Woodruff will be on medication the rest of his life, begins cardiac rehabilitation next week and has started seeing a therapist.
“Some days have been really hard dealing with the traumatic nature of this situation,” he admitted. “How to approach life moving forward. I don’t know what to expect and just go one day at a time.
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“I’ve been very fortunate to not have life hit me hard like this until I was 40. I’m actually very fortunate. A lot of things can happen in life. For this to be the first, it’s something actually I should be grateful for.”
A special education teacher of math and language arts at Kuna Middle School, Woodruff hopes to return by the end of August for the start of a new school year. Selected in the second round (12th overall) by the Alouettes in 2008, he was part of consecutive Grey Cup championship teams in 2009-10, but missed most of the ‘13 season with a concussion and was forced to retire.
Given a second chance at life, Woodruff is determined to give back. He wants to bring the best out of his students, both in the classroom and as people. Having admitted to being selfish through much of his life, Woodruff’s determined to become more generous and compassionate.
“I can’t take the Grey Cup rings with me,” he said. “I can’t take money with me. I can’t take anything. What do I have to give? What do I leave behind? The only thing I can leave behind is those relationships and what I can help other people do. That has to be my focus.”
A GoFundMe campaign for Woodruff to aid in his recovery has raised US$22,520 with a goal of US$30,000.
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