I was watching the game two weeks ago on ESPN, as the Detroit Pistons faced off against the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers. The Pistons were looking surprisingly good despite the wretched year they’ve been having. Up 67-61 in the third quarter, ESPN went to commercial with Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey jawing with someone on his team as they went to break. Minutes later, back from commercial, I find out that Stuckey had collapsed on the bench and the broadcasters were mentioning the possibility of seizures. Then, he was being wheeled out on a stretcher. It was all pretty scary.
Stuckey was taken to the hospital and, after a battery of tests, they couldn’t find anything wrong with him and he was released the next day. According to Pistons.com, Stuckey had encountered something similar back in November of 2008, when he fell to his knees right before halftime of a game he was in against the Boston Celtics. Tests were done then and they couldn’t find anything wrong, either. He missed a couple of games and was back.
Now, fast forward to 2010 and it’s like deja vu all over again, but this time, the Pistons kept Stuckey out a bit longer, just to be sure. Pistons.com reported Stuckey had worn a heart monitor for about a week, and was consulted daily by the Cleveland Clinic, where he was initially admitted on March 5. Now, 2 weeks later, after a full practice yesterday, he’s been cleared to play tonight at Indiana. Normally a starter for the team, Stuckey will most likely come off the bench after missing the past six games, but just the fact that he’s able to play again so soon after what he’s been through is impressive. And, hopefully, everything will be just fine from now on.
Photo by Keith Allison via Flickr.