DeMarre Carroll leading charge against liver disease
When DeMarre Carroll isn't helping the Toronto Raptors contend in the East, he's trying to spread the word about liver disease and prevention.
"I'm basically the first NBA player that played that I know of with a liver disease, and I'm trying to be an advocate for it," he told Jared Zwerling of NBPA.com.
As a senior at Missouri in 2008, Carroll was diagnosed with a rare liver condition, which he shed plenty of tears over because he thought it marked the end of his basketball career. He resolved to power through by maintaining his faith and developing healthier eating habits.
"That's when you have to either become strong mentally or you're going to become weak," Carroll said of the life-changing incident. "I feel like that's when I took that step. That one incident has helped me mentally, so anything I go through now doesn't compare to what I went through back then."
Since the diagnosis, the 6-foot-8 small forward has played through the condition over seven NBA seasons, maintaining his health while taking medications to ease the symptoms. Not only has he played, but he's built a reputation as one of the league's premier two-way players at the three-spot, and earned a $60-million deal with the Raptors last offseason.
Still, his off-the-court endeavors may trump all of that. In July 2015, the former first-round pick established the Carroll Family Foundation, which aims to raise awareness and money for treating liver conditions.
The only player in the Association who's dedicated to this specific cause, Carroll has been visiting children's hospitals and fundraising for liver-related programs. He's also hosted events around the U.S. and arranged a pair of them in his new NBA home of Toronto last month.
"We're doing a lot of galas and luncheons, and we're trying to raise a lot of money so we can bring awareness and find a cure for this type of disease" he said. "And I feel like we're going in the right direction, a lot of people are helping and our voice is finally being heard. I'm trying to be the one to make it heard on the highest level."
The Alabama native has also carried the message to his summer basketball camps, where he teaches children fundamentals of the sport, as well as healthy eating habits.
One of the main reasons Carroll focuses on helping kids is because when he was 5 years old, his 9-year-old brother, DeLonte, died of a brain tumor. That's stayed with him, and inspires everything he's done since.
In lieu of a cure, the 30-year-old's likely to be a candidate for a transplant in about 20 years. He's optimistic it won't come down to that.
"A transplant is one of those things that's the outlook, that's the only solution," he said. "But the way technology is right now, with new medicine and all these different cures, you never know what happens. So I've always got to stay positive, always stay in tuned with my doctors. And I just try to keep a healthy living style and take it day by day."