Chris Bosh Makes First Public Appearance Since Blood Clot Diagnosis; Will Play In 2015-2016

Despite the summer loss of LeBron James, 2014-2015 hasn’t exactly been the season the Miami Heat envisioned. This latest news ensures that next year will have the chance to be that and even more. The team announced today that All-Star forward Chris Bosh will begin exercising later this month following a February diagnosis of blood clots in his lung. Barring no setbacks, he’ll be fully prepared to play when Miami’s training camp opens in September.

Here’s the full press release via the team’s website:

The Miami HEAT, Thoracic Surgeon Dr. John DeRosimo and team Cardiologist Dr. Ed Neff released the following statement on the health of Chris Bosh.

Chris Bosh will be re-evaluated this month, and if cleared, may begin regular exercise at that time with plans to start strength training next month. He is scheduled to resume full basketball activities in September.

A genial Bosh met with reporters on Monday for the first time since his health scare became public knowledge, too. The 31 year-old says there was a time he feared he might never play again, and also that being sidelined for the past few weeks has allowed him to gain an even better appreciation for all that basketball has afforded him.

Courtesy of Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick:

Was he concerned that he might not play again?

“Yeah, for a short period of time,” Bosh said. “But I’m a huge fan of positive thinking. That subject did come up. But that was only a possibility. We wanted to make sure we took all the precautions of course, with the doctors doing the work that they have to do. I knew I was going to play basketball again. It was just something that I had to cope with quickly, and then just move on after that, and I was able to do that.”

[…]

“I’ve always respected the game,” he said. “I’ve always loved the game. And I’ve never been able to not play. This is the first time in my life. The game has given everything to me. I’m just making sure that I stay patient, making sure that I’m not getting too ahead of myself and trying to get back too soon. But I’ve just come to appreciate everything about basketball. Just being in the grind of doing this special job that we have. It’s something that I love. And will love forever.”

Bosh attended tonight’s game between the Heat and Boston Celtics at American Airlines Center. He addressed the crowd before tip-off, graciously thanking Heat nation for its support throughout his ordeal.

Irrespective of anything basketball related, what fantastic news that Bosh is home and on the road back to full health. Blood clots are a serious condition, and the NBA world was especially concerned with his diagnosis given Jerome Kersey’s sudden death from a similar affliction just days prior. Nobody deserves to suffer from serious illness, obviously, let alone someone like Bosh – one of the sports world’s true good guys.

And for the Heat, their dreams of legitimate contention in the post-LeBron era are back. A core of Bosh, Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng, and Hassan Whiteside is a playoff team at the very least in the Eastern Conference, and could certainly contend for a title if the ball bounced its way in terms of injuries.

But that’s for another day. This is about Bosh’s health, and we’re thrilled to learn he’s close to regaining it entirely.

[HEAT, Bleacher Report]

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