Playing With Heart

Shapecity · Nov 2, 2008

After Ronny Turiaf horded rebounds, blocks and assists in his high-energy Warriors debut, coach Don Nelson quipped that he'd been waiting for weeks for his new big man to break out.
He shouldn't have worried. Turiaf has always been a bit of a late-bloomer.

The 25-year-old center grew up on the French Caribbean island of Martinique before leaving home to play alongside Tony Parker and Boris Diaw at a Paris high school sports academy.

He spent four years at Gonzaga, the last of which earned him WCC Player of the Year honors, then was drafted in the second-round by the Lakers in 2005.

But when a heart screening weeks later turned up an enlarged aortic root - a potentially life-threatening condition - basketball suddenly was second to surviving.

Turiaf underwent six hours of open-heart surgery at Stanford Medical Center on July 26, 2005. Six months later, he was back with the Lakers, though not without some physical and emotional scarring.

"I'm going to put it plain and simple: The recovery from heart surgery, it's hell," Turiaf says. "You can't do the stuff you're used to. You can't put your sock on, you can't put your shoe on by yourself, you can't wash by yourself, you can't drink water by yourself.

"It's hell. But with the support of your family, with the support of your loved ones that I was fortunate to have, you heal faster."

Turiaf rebounded into one of the Lakers' most beloved reserves, and he's already made his mark in three games as a Warrior.

His shot-blocking and boardwork have been defensive boons, even spurring Nelson to play tallball at times with Turiaf, Andris Biedrins and Al Harrington in the frontcourt.

The only difference post-surgery, Turiaf says, is the thin pad he wears over his sternum for a sense of protection. He does not take medication or blood thinners, the side effects of which he calmly says would have ended his career.

"The strength of a pro athlete, the demands on your body because your heart has to pump when you exercise - there's no way you could put yourself at risk," Turiaf says. "That's not going to be fair for me, for my family, to put myself in a position where any given time, I can be here today but gone tomorrow. I don't want that."

Instead, Turiaf wants to spread the word about heart-related issues. He is working with Surgeons of Hope, a foundation aimed at improving care in developing countries, to serve as a host for children who need surgery. The idea is to fly them to home games at Oracle Arena and show them a good time before they continue on to Minnesota or Denver for their operations.

Then there's the Ronny Turiaf Heart to Heart Foundation, which he announced earlier this year. Turiaf says his mission statement is to raise money for kids to get checkups and echocardiograms they might not otherwise be able to afford, and hopefully pay for surgeries.

An echocardiogram, which can cost up to $1,000, is essentially an ultrasound for the heart. It's what detected the life-threatening conditions for both Turiaf and former NBA player Fred Hoiberg, who underwent surgery to correct his own enlarged aortic root just five weeks before Turiaf.

Dr. William Zoghbi, president of the American Society of Echocardiography, says the screening is particularly beneficial for those with a family history of heart problems, not just pro athletes. The NBA mandates yearly testing for it players.

"Really, an echocardiogram saved this athlete's life, because a rupture of the aorta could have occurred at any time," Zoghbi said. "Mr. Turiaf's cause, his look at trying to promote screenings for individuals, is very much encouraged."

Turiaf says he and Hoiberg, now an assistant GM in Minnesota, still talk regularly, and the advice Hoiberg gave Turiaf has already been passed along to Wizards center Etan Thomas, who is back this season after open-heart surgery for a leaky valve sidelined him last year.

The only thing Turiaf doesn't want to talk about, ironically, is his own echocardiogram, and what would have happened had his condition gone unnoticed. His reasoning is his life's motto, on and off the court.

"What's the point of thinking about negative energy?" he says.

Briefly: The Warriors officially welcomed back forward Rob Kurz on Sunday by signing him to a non-guaranteed deal. Golden State made room for Kurz, the final training camp cut, by transferring injured guard Monta Ellis to the suspended list.
Click to expand...

Source: SFGATE

Custodianrules2 · Nov 3, 2008

I love Turiaf. I thought he was a good signing from day 1. We need him on this team, but I hope he doesn't risk anything by doing what he loves.

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Playing With Heart

Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

Custodianrules2 Cohan + Rowell = Suck

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Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

Custodianrules2 Cohan + Rowell = Suck

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