(Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LaVar Ball, the outspoken father of NBA players, Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball and Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball, had to have his right foot amputated due to a serious medical issue, according to reports.
Ball, 57, is said to be in “great spirits and doing well,” according to TMZ, which first reported the news. The Ball family has not made commented on the matter, and no additional details pertaining to Ball’s health were disclosed.
LaVar is the CEO of the Big Baller Brand, which he and his sons have constantly represented. He was a practice squad member of both the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, but never played in an NFL game.
LaMelo was the third pick of the 2020 NBA Draft, three years after Lonzo was selected, to the Charlotte Hornets, where he still plays. LaMelo played professional overseas for a year with LiAngelo instead of playing in college.
The dad has been in the public spotlight since 2017, when Lonzo, his oldest son, became eligible for the NBA Draft. Ball famously said that Lonzo was going to be drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers. Months later, the Lakers drafted Lonzo with the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft.
He is also known for his hot takes, like saying he could beat Michael Jordan one-on-one or that Lonzo was the best player on a Lakers team with LeBron James.
While we don’t know the medical issue Ball was facing, a foot amputation can be caused by trauma or medical conditions that affect blood flow or tissue damage.
Trauma
Severe injuries from accidents like motor vehicle crashes, industrial accidents, or combat injuries
Crush wounds or blast wounds
Medical conditions that Cause Amputation
- Diabetes: Complications from diabetes can lead to nerve damage, poor blood flow, and foot ulcers
- Peripheral vascular disease: Atherosclerosis in the arteries can restrict blood flow to the extremities
- Infection: Infections that don’t heal or become worse
- Cancer: Tumors in the lower limb may require amputation
- Burns or frostbite: Severe burns or frostbite can lead to amputation
- Gangrene: Gangrene can occur as a result of peripheral arterial disease
- Other causes include: Loss of limb function or sensation, Deformity of the limb, Excessive tissue damage, Dysfunction, and Pain.
The level of amputation depends on the viability of the soft tissues. With the right support, people who have had an amputation can continue to live fulfilling lives.
The end of your leg (residual limb) will have a dressing and bandage that will remain on for 3 or more days. You may have pain for the first few days. You will be able to take pain medicine as you need them.
You may have a tube that drains fluid from the wound. This will be taken out after a few days.
Before leaving the hospital, you will begin learning how to:
- Use a wheelchair or a walker.
- Stretch your muscles to make them stronger.
- Strengthen your arms and legs.
- Begin walking with a walking aid and parallel bars.
- Start moving around the bed and into the chair in your hospital room.
- Keep your joints mobile.
- Sit or lie in different positions to keep your joints from becoming stiff.
- Control swelling in the area around your amputation.
- Properly put weight on your residual limb. You will be told how much weight to put on your residual limb. You may not be allowed to put weight on your residual limb until it is fully healed.
Fitting for prosthesis, a manmade part to replace your limb, may occur when your wound is mostly healed and the surrounding area is no longer tender to the touch.
Ice Cube and Lavar Ball compete in the Four Point Challenge (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Celebrities with Amputations
LaVar Ball isn’t the only person in the spotlight with amputated limbs.
Ella Fitzgerald
The legendary singer often referred to as the “Voice of Jazz,” had a double leg amputation in 1993. It was her diabetes that made the amputations necessary. Iconic actress and socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor had her leg amputated above the knee in 2011. She had an untreatable infection.
Rahm Emanuel
The former Mayor of Chicago and Chief of Staff for President Obama, Rahm Emanuel is missing most of his middle finger on his right hand. While working at an Arby’s restaurant as a teenager, he had an accident with a slicer. But instead of immediately getting medical attention, he went to prom and did some late-night swimming in Lake Michigan, where his finger became badly infected.
The finger was amputated in surgery, and as he joked during a George Washington University commencement address, “I could not express myself for months. I had to learn to talk with my left hand.”
Deion Sanders
Former pro football and pro baseball star, as well as current Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders chose to have two of his toes amputated rather than miss additional games when he led the Jackson State program.
Sanders has undergone 12 surgeries because of blood clots and other problems that have threatened amputation of his left leg or foot. Colorado assistant athletic trainer Lauren Askevold has been through it all with Sanders, who brought her over from Jackson State to CU.
Doctors told him that they could have saved the toes, which would have required him being hospitalized for another two to three weeks and missing additional games.
“Man, forget the toes,” Sanders responded, per Bell. “They were charcoal black. They were dead. You look down there and it’s two black toes. Take ’em. What am I going to do with them?”
