Ryan Clark sickle cell disease (1 Viewer)

[KCC]

Somehow, I missed this story in 2007. Why the coaches would even allow him to go Denver is beyond me.

Mile High Poses Serious Risk for Steelers' Ryan ClarkPosted Oct 27, 2009 7:47AM By JJ Cooper (RSS feed)The last time Ryan Clark played football in Denver, it nearly killed him. Clark's sickle-cell disease meant that his blood attacked his gall bladder and spleen forcing Clark to have both removed and sidelining him for the remainder of the 2007 season. He lost more than 30 pounds and needed months to recover.So now he has to decide if he's willing to risk playing in the thin air of Denver two weeks from now. It's a big game for the Steelers, but Clark, understandably, is only going to play if doctors can give him a clean bill of health. Right now, it's hard to say which way Clark is going to decide. He's run as many tests as can be run. Doctors have poked and prodded him. But it appears that no one can tell him for sure that Clark won't have another bad reaction to the altitude."I can promise you I will be on the plane, either way, and we'll just figure it out from there," Clark said.At this point, it's hard to believe that any new information will come out between now and Nov. 8 to give Clark a more certain explanation. And with that being the case, as big as the Steelers-Broncos game is for Pittsburgh, it seems to be better safe than sorry. For one, Clark shouldn't risk his life for one football game. And from a football standpoint, missing Clark for one game is bad, but losing Clark for the rest of the season like in 2007 would be a crushing blow for Pittsburgh.The bad news for the Steelers is that if Clark sits out, they could be without three starters. Linebacker Lawrence Timmons sprained his ankle against the Vikings while Travis Kirschke suffered a calf injury. If Kirschke misses the game, the Steelers will be down to their third-string defensive end since Aaron Smith is already out with a rotator cuff injury.

 

[Knobs]

I wish him the best of luck. Here's hoping if he goes it doesn't cause anything...

 

[Aardvarks]

interesting story, I had forgot about that happening to Clark in '07.

hey, isn't this Denver/Pitt game in 2 weeks?

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

hey, isn't this Denver/Pitt game in 2 weeks?

Pit has a bye this week. wouldn't surprise me if they went to Den a little early to acclimate a couple extra training days at altitude.

 

[certificate]

Jeez. Just sit the damn game out man.

There's tough and there's stupid.... your blood cells don't care how tough you are.

 

[CrossEyed]

Jeez. Just sit the damn game out man.There's tough and there's stupid.... your blood cells don't care how tough you are.

Can't believe they would even take this kind of risk.