Maggie Sajak is opening up about how her father Pat Sajak's health scare changed her perspective on life.
The "Wheel of Fortune" social correspondent, 31, took to Instagram on Saturday, Nov. 7, to reflect on the seven-year anniversary of her dad's emergency surgery that kept the record-holding host off-air for nearly a month.
"Seven years ago today was the scariest day of my life," she said in the video. "But it also turned out to be one of the most important."
Maggie recalled that it was a "normal day" in November when she and her father went on their regular morning walk. When they returned home, she said her dad was "experiencing a lot of abdominal pain," which was concerning since "he’s not a big complainer."
"It turns out we were actually in
a [life-or-death] situation," she said. "He was experiencing an intestinal blockage, and he needed emergency surgery. It was terrifying. … But thankfully, it wasn’t a sign of something more serious underlying."
Maggie said she wished that "none of that ever happened" and had hoped her father didn't have to experience the pain and fear of the health scare. Looking back, though, she acknowledged some "silver linings."
She realized something from that experience: "At that moment, all that mattered was my family, my loved ones and our health."
The situation also helped pave the path for her current job on the long-running game show.
She said although her dad was "healing well" a week after the surgery, "he wasn’t medically cleared to go back to work yet." So while Vanna White temporarily took over hosting duties, Maggie "filled in at the puzzle board."
She is "forever grateful" for the time she worked alongside her father on "Wheel," adding, "That really scary experience led to some really beautiful experiences."
Pat Sajak before 2019 surgery: 'This must be what death is like'
Pat Sajak previously detailed his medical saga in a 2019 sit-down with "Good Morning America."
After feeling "horrific pain" prior to filming "Wheel," he was in the operating room "within two and a half hours."
"I was in the fetal position, lying on the bed. So they try to give you various drugs for the pain, and none of it – none – was working. And then they gave me something; I couldn't even tell you the name of it, but suddenly, I wasn't thinking about the pain," he said. "I just had these beautiful pastels and lovely faces coming out of it."
He continued, "I remember thinking, not in a morbid way, 'I think this must be death. This must be what death is like.'"
Pat Sajak also worried about his wife, Lesly Brown, and daughter, whom he could hear talking.
"And I felt badly for them," he said. "I didn't feel badly about dying. I felt badly that they were gonna have to deal with the aftermath. As it turned out, I was just high."
Contributing: Erin Jensen
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pat Sajak's daughter recalls his 'terrifying' emergency surgery
