MIAMI LAKES, Fla. -- Alonzo Mourning stepped out from behind a curtain, and the high school auditorium erupted with a shrill cheer to rival any Heat-Knicks game.
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He looked a little thin, but the grin was broad as Mourning stood at the front of the stage and basked in the therapeutic applause.
"The welcome y'all just gave me -- that's what keeps me going,"
he said.
The Miami Heat center, who will sit out this season because of a
kidney disorder, spoke Thursday at a pep rally to promote the Great
American Smokeout next month. Afterward he met with reporters for
the first time since his condition was disclosed at a somber news
conference Oct. 16.
"I feel great right now," said Mourning, 30. "I'm living. I'm
blessed. I have a lot of people in my corner who care about me. I
have the best doctors in the world to advise me. And I have all the
support I need to help me get through this.
"Time will dictate the outcome. I'm very fortunate. There was a
possibility it could have been a lot more serious than it was."
Mourning's ailment, focal glomerulosclerosis, will be treated initially with medication but could eventually require dialysis or a transplant. The disorder was discovered during a routine preseason physical after Mourning returned from Australia, where he helped the U.S. Olympic team win a gold medal.
Since being sidelined, Mourning said, he has spent most of his
time at home.
"The toughest thing is not being able to play right now, not being able to do something I want to do," he said.
Mourning said he has been buoyed by many cards and letters of
support. A fan in Fredericksburg, Va., even offered to donate his
kidney if it would help.
Until now, Mourning admitted, he took good health for granted.
"You feel you're invincible at times and things can never
happen to you because you're living your life so perfect, and
things are going so well," he said. "As soon as you're a victim
of it, it's a wake-up call for you."
Long active in charity work, Mourning said he'll now have more
time for it. At the pep rally he urged students not to smoke and
spoke of friends and relatives -- including Heat coach Pat Riley --
who gave up cigarettes.
"I'm going through some health issues now, so it's important to try to alleviate everything you can at a young age to try to prepare yourself for the future," Mourning said.
After the rally, students formed a long line for autographs.
Mourning greeted each youngster with a handshake and a smile as he
signed basketballs, photos, caps, shirts and even a megaphone, one
after another for 45 minutes.
"Right now," he said, "I have nothing but time."
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