Titans Rookie Peter Skoronski Back in Locker Room After Emergency Appendectomy

NASHVILLE — Peter Skoronski thought he just had a stomach ache. Until it got worse — and then dramatically worse. A trip to the hospital to get checked out seemed to a be in order, and it's a good thing the Tennessee Titans' rookie left guard went.

A real good thing. Because while he was at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville on Sept. 16, his appendix burst. He needed an emergency appendectomy.

"It wasn't very fun and it was kind of a two-day thing. It had to come out. Had to,'' Skoronski said. "It ruptured, but they caught it basically. It was almost too late when they caught. I'm very appreciative of everyone there that helped me out. They did a great job, and I'm doing fine. I'm happy it's over with, and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone. It was not fun."

Skoronski, who played well in the Titans' season opener at New Orleans but has missed the last two games, said he initially thought he had food poisoning. Two days later, a trip to the hospital was in order. That turned out to be a good thing. He had to have his first major surgery sinc an ACL repair back when he was in eighth grade.

"It was just a lot of pain, I just wanted to get it out and done with," Skoronski said. 

Skoronski said Wednesday that he's ''starting to feel like a normal person again,'' and admitted that he's lost a lot of weight in the past few weeks. He's starting to get his appetite back and has been cleared to resume light lifting and core exercises.

He workload will be monitored daily as he regains his strength and stamina. There is no timetable for his return. 

"It's frustrating," Skoronski said. "Obviously as a young guy, you want to get as many live bullets as you can. You want to be on the field as soon as possible, but you also don't want to be out there in a position where you can't do the right thing for your team and perform for your team. It's just kind of finding that balance.

"It's sucked a lot, and it was a couple of rough days there. But I’ve definitely made a ton of strides since then. So I’m happy with that. In terms of a timetable, it's just going to be about how I feel every day. I'm just working through it day by day. In terms of which game I'll be back, I really don't know. It's more about doing what i can on Wednesday and then seeing how i feel on Thursday.'' 

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