Talking about his family supporting him… "I'd like to thank you for all the calls I've gotten over the past couple weeks, and for all the thoughts and prayers for the family, it really means a lot to me. I'm sorry I haven't called each and every one of you back, it's going to take me a while to get my strength back up, but slowly and surely I'm getting on my feet and hopefully my worst days are behind me. I'd like to thank my family, especially my wife Carol, who has stood by me since day one, since we found out about the enlarged aortic root. It's been a very emotional time for us and she's been right there with me, sleeping on a bad, hard chair for twelve straight nights down at the Mayo Clinic. She's really been my rock throughout this whole process. I want to thank my parents, who also were there with me the whole time, whether my mom giving me a foot rub when I needed it or my dad helping me with the New York Times crossword puzzles, they were there for me the whole time. I want to thank my in-laws, my sister-in-law Suzy, for helping us out with the kids." Thanking the fans for their support… "I want to thank the fans, we've gotten over 1,200 letters of support, and people offering their thoughts and prayers - they've been just phenomenal, keeping my spirits up. When I feel down, all I got to do is look at these letters, e-mails, cards, floral arrangements, and balloon boutiques. It's just been phenomenal the support that I've gotten from the fans and I appreciate that." On his recovery… "I'm going to have to take my time with this process. Jim Stack and Kevin McHale have told me to take my time, take as much time as I need for this because my health is the most important thing right now. Each day is getting a little bit easier." When asked if he felt sorry for himself… "I went and visited a couple kids while I was in the hospital, in the cardiac unit. There was a little kid from Iowa, who was 6 years old, and had just had his third open-heart surgery. That’s the kid you feel sorry for. I’ve had ten great years in this league, I don’t feel sorry for myself at all. This is something that I actually feel fortunate that we found this, in that, now I can focus on getting better and living the rest of my life, whether basketball is a part of that or whether I move on to the next chapter is yet to be determined. I do expect to make a full recovery and get back on the floor, and I’m excited about that.” --- 請翻 Orz --

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