After recently getting his right foot amputated, Lavar Ball has opened up about some serious health struggles. In an article he wrote for SLAM magazine, Ball revealed that a dangerous infection entered his blood stream and became life-threatening.
Ball, the father of NBA players Lonzo and LaMelo as well as “Tweaker” rapper Gelo (or LiAngelo), provided a harrowing account of what he’s endured over the last few months. After doctors discovered an infection in his foot, which stemmed from diabetes, Ball went through numerous surgeries and blood transfusions.
“I had an infection on my foot that started spreading through my blood due to not paying attention to my diabetes,” Ball wrote. “I ended up having to get my leg amputated. First, they cut off a couple of toes. Then they cut off my foot.
“Then they said, ‘We gotta go almost knee high for another surgery.’ Three surgeries. And then there were also the blood transfusions. Not one, not two, not three, four different times.”
The procedures took a physical and mental toll on Ball, who admitted he began to wonder whether this was it.
“It made me think that maybe it’s time for me to shut it down,” Ball wrote.
While Ball is without his right foot, he managed to escape the infection with his life. Ball said that, if hadn’t gone to see a doctor late last year, “this would be a different type of story.”
Ball credited his three sons for giving him strength throughout his battle. LaMelo and Lonzo Ball are key contributors on the Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls, their respective NBA teams, and Gelo’s hit “Tweaker” blew up while Ball was ill.
“I’m the Big Baller,” Ball wrote. “I’m hard to kill. But I must admit that my boys kept me rolling.”
