Columbus, OH,
17
February
2016
|
19:33 PM
Europe/Amsterdam

Secret Lives: From NFL to surgeon

Secret Lives is an ongoing series that shares the unusual past careers and unique hobbies of OhioHealth associates, physicians, and volunteers.

When Simon Fraser, DO, takes an interest in something, he tackles it with passion. As a young man that passion was football, and Simon pursued it to the top.

At age 18, Simon enrolled at The Ohio State University to play for the Buckeyes. He went on to play three seasons as a defensive lineman for the Cleveland Browns and one season with the Atlanta Falcons.

Highlights for Simon included playing against people he’d long idolized, such as Brett Favre with the Green Bay Packers and St. Louis Rams legend Orlando Pace.

“It was such a unique experience,” he says. “The friendships I made and the opportunities and adventures I had were ones I will never forget.”

Today, Simon’s new passion is medicine. He’s a surgery resident at OhioHealth Doctors Hospital having completed his medical degree at The Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. Simon was inspired to pursue medicine after his wife, Mallory, went through a complicated pregnancy and gave birth prematurely to twins.

He said he learned a lot from football that he now applies to his new career.

“Whatever you think is routine is never routine, especially in surgery,” Simon says. “Football teaches you how to look at things with a calm, clear mindset as well as how to adapt to an ever changing situation.”