Isaiah Austin, a 7'1" former center player at Baylor University, was one of the players with greatest potential to be picked at the NBA Draft on Thursday - until he learned that he has a syndrome that would end his basketball career.
Austin was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, "a genetic disorder that affects the body's connective tissue," according to the Marfan Foundation website. "Because connective tissue is found throughout the body, Marfan syndrome can affect many different parts of the body, as well. Features of the disorder are most often found in the heart, blood vessels, bones, joints, and eyes." The most life-threatening feature of the syndrome is aortic enlargement, which is "an expansion of the main blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart to the rest of the body."
Austin described the devastation he and his family felt when they heard the news.
"I remember walking through the door, and there was 10, 15 people there - my Baylor coaching staff, my pastor, a couple of my close friends and my family. The first person's face who I saw was my mother's. She was all the way in the back. I just remember seeing tears falling down her eyes, my dad's arms around her."
He went on. "I wanted to break down and cry, but I didn't because my little brother and sister were in the room. I wanted to show them that I could be strong for them and for my family because they look up to me. Later that night, I just remember I couldn't sleep. It was devastating."
However, instead of dwelling on the fact that he wouldn't be able to play on the court, Austin decided to take a much more positive perspective.
"My mom always tells me that I need to stay positive no matter what. People have the will power to get through any situation. I have a great support system behind me and they're all backing me up no matter what I do. The people that love me, they love me for the person that I am, not the sport that I play," Austin said at the post draft interview.
When asked about his future plans, he said he plans on going back to school and finishing his degree. He hopes to be able to coach in the future.
He also plans on being a spokesman for the Marfan Foundation.
"I'm gonna be flying around to different places, telling my story, telling people that they can dream again. I'm gonna share my story with others to try to inspire them to fight through the obstacles in their life."
"To be blessed to play this game for as long as I did, I'm just thankful. I've really had time to sit down and think a little bit, and God has truly blessed me because he could have continued to let me play basketball, but instead, he saved my life."
