It's not hard for Warriors center Ronny Turiaf to make an impact in an NBA game. Whether it's making a big-time block at the rim or taking a hard foul to prevent a bucket, Turiaf is pretty good at sending a message.Well, Turiaf is trying to send another kind of message these days, this one about the important of heart health. That message is proving a little more difficult to send.
Turiaf held a conference call this week to announce that his foundation, The Ronny Turiaf Heart 2 Heart Foundation, is teaming with the American Society of Echocardiography to try to make more people aware of the echocardiogram – a heart ultrasound – which likely saved Turiaf's life.
It was a sparse gathering on the call, but that didn't make Turiaf any less positive or enthusiastic about getting the word out. After Turiaf was drafted by the L.A. Lakers in 2005, an echocardiogram showed that he had a life-threatening heart condition, an enlarged aortic root.
"When I got diagnosed, I thought it was a big mistake, "Turiaf said. "I didn't think anything was wrong with my heart. I was in the best shape of my life. I thought I was invincible. I was going from doctor to doctor thinking everything was OK.
"They put two scenarios in front of you: Choice A, you have surgery. Who knows what's going to happen. You might be here, you might not be here. Or B, you stop playing basketball."
Of course, Turiaf opted for the surgery, which allowed him to continue playing basketball. It's pretty simple, really. That echocardiogram probably saved Turiaf's life. So, it's easy to understand the goal: Get the word out about heart health and echocardiograms.
"We're at the very early stages of our collaboration," said Dr. Williams Zoghbi, American Society of Echocardiography president. "We could develop many venues for us to increase the awareness of echocardiography, which is a cardiovascular ultrasound, and in promoting health."
Turiaf has found time this offseason to keep tabs on the Lakers, his former team. Not that he necessarily wants them to win it.
"It's bittersweet because I have a profound relationship with those guys," Turiaf said of his old Lakers teammates. "I'm happy for them. I want them to succeed. ... I'm rooting for a good basketball series. I want my friends to be happy, but I like Mickael Pietrus, too. So, I'm in the middle."
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
This guy can play ball. The Lakers used him wrong as is the case with most NBA players. Playing for Jackson is about DEFENSE. This guy could score the ball in college. But he was not a scorer for the Lakers. The same thing happened to Horace Grant. A scorer in college but total defense in the Pros with a token shot every now and then. I guess the money is too good to complain. And if you all remember, Jordan and Pippen had some terrible shooting nights. Other players won some of those Bulls games. The same with the Lakers. Horace Grant helped the Lakers get their Kobe-Shaq rings(to include other Bulls players that followed Phil). The Lakers were overstocked. Somebody had to leave. This is an easy win for Kobe and the Lakers at Home. I think the Lakers should give this guy a ring.