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Message
re: Isaiah Austin's Basketball Career is Over
Posted on 6/23/14 at 1:11 pm to jjbodean1970
Posted on 6/23/14 at 1:11 pm to jjbodean1970
I don't understand how his eye injury was due to Marfan Syndrome; however, I am ignorant towards the disease.
quote:
The root of Austin's disability started with an accident while he was playing a position he had never experienced before: first base. Austin had been attending a summer baseball camp in 2005 when he was 11 years old, and he was placed at first base because of his height.
"I think they thought I was older just because I was so tall, so they put me in the older kids' group," the soft-spoken Austin said over breakfast recently in Arlington, Texas, near where he resides. "I was on first base, and I remember the pitcher kept faking it to me. I was like, 'What is he doing?' I really hadn't played baseball that long, so I didn't know that the pitcher can throw it back to first and try to get the person out.
"So he faked the pitch and he threw it, and I put my glove up like a half-a-second late, and the ball just smashed into my eye."
Austin went to the hospital because his eye swelled up and his contact lens got stuck. Doctors said he had a loose retina. But no surgery was required; he was simply told to monitor any pain. Little did he know, his eye would gradually get worse.
In February 2008, everything came crashing down. It was the last game of his middle school basketball career, and Austin had never dunked during layup lines. That's because there was a strict rule against it: two technical fouls, and you're out of the game. But working off of adrenaline, Austin took off, cuffed the ball back with his left hand and jammed it down.
The crowd went wild and a double tech ensued, but no one but Austin knew what he immediately saw out of his right eye: red. It was blood. The powerful nature of the uncontested dunk had detached his retina, which was the diagnosis the next morning when he went to the emergency room.
Posted on 6/23/14 at 3:16 pm to BeYou
quote:
I don't understand how his eye injury was due to Marfan Syndrome; however, I am ignorant towards the disease.
"Marfan syndrome is caused by mutations in the gene that encodes a protein called fibrillin. Fibrillin helps connective tissue maintain its strength, and therefore, some fibers and other parts of connective tissue undergo changes that ultimately weaken the tissue. The weakening affects bones and joints as well as internal structures, such as the heart, blood vessels, and eyes. Weakened tissues stretch, distort, and can even tear. For example, the aorta may weaken, bulge, or tear. Connective tissues that join structures may weaken or break, separating formerly attached structures. For example, the eye's lens or retina may separate from its normal attachments."
LINK
Posted on 6/23/14 at 3:24 pm to jjbodean1970
Essentially he's gong to get to a point where the muscle cells in his heart get too stretched out to funtion properly and give out.
I feel terrible for the kid. My dad lost one of his childhood friends to this in the last few years.
I feel terrible for the kid. My dad lost one of his childhood friends to this in the last few years.
Posted on 6/23/14 at 3:43 pm to ProjectP2294
now that it's been properly diagnosed he can get the proper monitoring of his condition and care. the treatment options have come a long way and his life expectancy should approach 70, though it won't be without its significant challenges.
and i agree, i feel terrible for him, especially this close to the draft. the interview on espn was just heart-wrenching.
and i agree, i feel terrible for him, especially this close to the draft. the interview on espn was just heart-wrenching.
Posted on 6/23/14 at 3:50 pm to jjbodean1970
I don't know that he can make it to 70. You don't see a lot geriatric 7 footers as is. Being that big puts a lot of stress on the body. Compound that with this specific degeneratve disorder and it looks even more grim. Even with monitoring and treatment.
Posted on 6/23/14 at 4:06 pm to bulldog95
quote:
Glad they found it now before something tragic happened on the court or somewhere else.
Good luck to the young man
This. Saw his interview on tv today and it was hard to watch. Unfortunate card he's been dealt.
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