Luol Deng has opened up concerning the terrifying ordeal of getting misdiagnosed after struggling an sickness through the 2013 playoffs whereas taking part in for the Bulls.
“In the event you keep in mind, that 12 months we went to the playoffs, the 12 months that D. Rose acquired damage,” Deng mentioned just lately on the Knuckleheads Podcast. “We have been taking part in Brooklyn, and there was a flu going round with the workforce. One of many medical doctors urged that, as a result of my fever was so excessive, I may need meningitis. Out of nowhere, they simply despatched me to the hospital. After I acquired to the hospital, they misdiagnosed me. They ended up saying my fever was too excessive and whatnot, and so they ended up giving me a spinal faucet surgical procedure.”
It turned out Deng didn’t have meningitis and he subsequently needed to cope with the issues of the surgical procedure, which included spinal fluid leakage and lack of management of his physique.
He needed to sue the Bulls, however determined towards it as a result of all he needed to do was come again and play.
“I ended up lacking the playoffs,” Deng mentioned. “And what occurred was that 12 months there was a dispute happening with the NBPA and so forth about me suing the Bulls due to what occurred.”However I knew that if I sued the Bulls, I might both not play basketball ever once more with a purpose to win the case, to show that issues didn’t go nicely and this may very well be career-ending however needed to hoop so I mentioned, ‘Yo, I’m not suing anybody. I’m simply going to hoop. I’m simply going to come back again.’”
Deng made a comeback, simply be be traded to the Cavs.
“Nothing was the identical,” Deng mentioned. “It simply felt like, you realize, each recreation I used to be given a chance to show that I’m wholesome. And because the 12 months went on, such as you mentioned, I’m the main scorer. I’m averaging nearly 20 factors.
“The subsequent factor I do know is I’m traded to Cleveland, and I nonetheless consider that transfer was made, actually, as a result of I’ve performed sufficient video games to indicate that, you realize, I used to be wholesome. That’s when the workforce began being damaged up, and one after the other after I left, you realize, you began seeing folks being moved, Thibs being moved and so forth.”
