Greg Papa has been hospitalized since Sept. 7 with advanced heart failure, another setback in the longtime Bay Area sportscaster’s recovery from a bone marrow transplant.
The 63-year-old voice of the San Francisco 49ers needed the transplant after a leukemia diagnosis last summer. Side effects from the procedure have complicated his bid to return to the radio booth, the San Francisco Standard reported.
Papa said his genetic heart condition, cardiomyopathy, worsened because of the transplant. UCSF’s advanced heart failure team performed a diagnostic procedure Tuesday morning to assess his heart, reports The Mercury News.
“A week after that beautiful night in Novato, I experienced another health setback,” Papa wrote in a text to the Standard. “All of your love and support has greatly helped us get past the many health obstacles we have faced. Together we will get past the next challenge. Love you all and thank you.”
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| Greg Papa |
Papa’s first hospitalization after the transplant followed the collapse of both lungs. That 78-day stay included an induced coma and a respirator.
The latest hospital stay came as KNBR announced it was bringing Papa back to the airwaves after canceling his show with Greg Silver over the summer. He is scheduled for a weekday noon-to-1 p.m. feature, “Lunch With Papa,” alongside John Lund. Last month, Papa appeared as a guest at former Giants coach Tim Flannery’s concert with his band Lunatic Fringe in Novato.
A four-time California Sportscaster of the Year, Papa has been the 49ers’ radio voice since 2019. Over four decades in Bay Area sports, he has also called Raiders, Giants, A’s and Warriors games, beginning in the 1980s.