TURIAF `SCARED' ABOUT SURGERY HEART CONDITION LIFE-THREATENING.Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer EL SEGUNDO El Segundo (ĕl sēgŭn`dō), industrial city (1990 pop. 15,223), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1917. Its products include navigation and computer systems, aircraft parts, office machines, telephone apparatus, and - The doctors had their say all week before Ronny Turiaf Ronny Turiaf (born January 13, 1983 in Le Robert, Martinique) is a French basketball player, selected in the second round (37th pick overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. finally had his Friday morning, speaking straight from the heart about a condition that threatens his life and a dream of playing professional basketball that he will not let die. He sat in a room filled with reporters and camera crews at the Lakers' practice facility, fighting to keep his emotions from spilling out as he talked about the open-heart surgery open-heart surgery Any surgical procedure opening the heart and exposing one or more of its chambers, most often to repair valve disease or correct congenital heart malformations (see congenital heart disease). he faces in the coming weeks. ``It's tough,'' Turiaf said. ``But I'm going to get through it because I want to get through it, and I'm not going to let my family down. You're going to have to fight to freaking freak·ing adv. & adj. Slang Used as an intensive: Traffic was a freaking nightmare. [Alteration of frigging, present participle of frig.] kill me. I'm going to get through it.'' Only 15 hours earlier, a Lakers See Lake poets spokesman occupied the same seat, announcing that Turiaf had been found by team doctors to be suffering from an enlarged aortic aortic pertaining to or emanating from the aorta. See also aortic arch. aortic aneurysm occurs most often in dogs, where it is caused by Spirocerca lupi larvae, turkeys and primates, causing dyspnea, cyanosis and coughing. root, a condition that could be potentially fatal if not repaired by surgery. The 22-year-old forward was selected by the Lakers in the second round of last month's draft. He twice before had been found to have a heart abnormality - once by doctors at last month's NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= predraft camp - but was cleared to play both times. ``I'm scared,'' Turiaf said, ``but I just want to open my eyes after surgery. That's just what it is. And after that, everything will go from there. This is a pretty big surgery, but, hopefully, I will get through it.'' If Turiaf does not need to have his aortic valve aortic valve n. The valve between the left ventricle of the heart and the ascending aorta, consisting of three semilunar cusps. Aortic valve replaced, the best-case scenario is that he could play again in a year. It was the only outcome he was willing to consider Friday. ``I definitely will be back on the court,'' Turiaf said. ``That's my way of thinking right now.'' The league, meanwhile, said the predraft camp physicals are not meant to be the final say on a player's health. It was the predraft assessment that the Lakers said Thursday they used in selecting Turiaf. ``The purpose of the physical at the predraft camp is to provide information to our teams,'' NBA spokesman Tim Frank said. ``It's not a matter of passing or clearing a player to play.'' The Lakers had four doctors examine Turiaf in recent days, and all four agreed that he was suffering from a life-threatening condition. Frank said the NBA could not release the names of the doctors who examined Turiaf last month in Chicago for legal reasons. Additionally, Turiaf underwent a physical all four years he played college basketball College basketball most often refers to the American basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA. History
``No one ever had anything like this turn up on him,'' Roth said. ``It was no different for us than the predraft camp and the French national team. Nothing popped up on our radar that made us think he needed more extensive testing.'' One question left unanswered was whether other NBA teams passed on Turiaf because of suspicions about his heart. Turiaf's agent, Bouna Ndiaye, did not return messages Friday. There have been many calls of support for Turiaf from his college coaches and teammates at Gonzaga - ``they think I'm dead or something,'' he said - as well as from Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant (born July 23 1978) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. , who offered words of encouragement Friday morning. ``He told me to hang in there and that he would see me in about a year on the court,'' Turiaf said. ``He told me that in about a year, that stuff will be a memory. That kind of cheered me up a little bit.'' Turiaf admitted he was scared of dying during the surgery and said he was most bothered by the fact that he feels no discomfort although doctors have told him his heart is fatally flawed. He is at risk of an aortic rupture without surgery. ``This is just the way my heart is,'' Turiaf said. ``I guess I have too big of a heart.'' Turiaf said if he never is able to play again, his biggest regret would be leaving his family so young for a dream that came up short. He left his native Martinique as a teenager to play basketball in France before heading to Gonzaga. He has two younger sisters at home and struggled to tell this week's news to his 17-year-old sister, Elodie. ``I told her, and she started crying,'' Turiaf said. ``She can't take it. But I told her I always fought for her.'' Ross Siler, (818) 713-3610 ross.siler(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Lakers draft pick Ronny Turiaf wipes away tears during a news conference on Friday. Turiaf faces open-heart surgery to fix an enlarged aortic root. Rene Macura/Associated Press |
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