Too many times as fans we see professional athletes as above human. We yell at the TV screen when our favorite player or team fails to put out a solid effort. Lost in this is the fact that athletes are human too. They have bad days and good days just like any one of us.
Then there's a story like that of Aaron Boone.
Boone's season is over before it begins due to a heart condition he's known about since college as reported in an article by Kristie Rieken, Houston's Boone to have Open Heart Surgery. Doctors determined he would need the surgery while performing a routine physical examination and that he will have to miss the season, even though the condition isn't considered life threatening.
Boone was told that once he recovers from the surgery he'll be able to play baseball again if he decides to. Even if Boone doesn't come back, he has support from his teammates. One in particular, Doug Brocail, had heart surgery back in 2006 but didn't have open heart surgery. Brocail had two angioplasties to put four stents in.
"Get this done for you and your kids and if you play baseball again, so be it," Brocail said. "If you don’t, get it fixed so you can have a normal healthy life.”
Once the surgery is done, Boone will do some research on other athletes who went through the procedure. One person Boone was interested in speaking with is Ronny Turiaf of the Golden State Warriors, who had a similar procedure done.
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