Tired and sore, Turiaf continues on his recovery

Ronny Turiaf, who returned to Spokane earlier this week after undergoing open heart surgery, continues his recovery at the home of a close friend but remains tired, weak and sore.

“He has good days and bad days, which is to be expected,” Steve Hertz, the director of athletic relations at Gonzaga University, said of the former Bulldogs men’s basketball standout and second-round draft choice of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers.

A press conference with Turiaf scheduled for Friday was canceled. GU sports information director Oliver Pierce said “Ronny is not feeling up to it” and would reschedule.

Turiaf underwent surgery to repair an enlarged aortic root just 11 days ago at the Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif. Hertz was at his side when he was released from the hospital on Tuesday and accompanied him and his mother, Aline Cesar, back to Spokane.

Hertz said Turiaf’s departure was extremely emotional, because of the close friendships he had made with staff members at the hospital during his weeklong stay.

“The way that guy touches people is truly amazing,” Hertz explained. “Watching people say goodbye was pretty special, because they had all fallen in love with him just like everybody does.”

The trip back, however, proved taxing.

“He had a rough day on Tuesday, getting up and getting ready to leave,” Hertz said. “He was excited to be getting out of the hospital, but he had to do a lot of walking and moving around – things he hadn’t done at all for a week – and it wore on him.”

Since returning to Spokane, Turiaf has been taking short, daily walks in an effort to regain his strength. Hertz said he hopes to progress shortly to the point where he can walk for 10 minutes four or five times a day.

“But he’s not supposed to lift anything over five pounds,” Hertz added. “It’s a very slow and gradual process. Little things like just moving around and eating, things that seemed so insignificant a couple of weeks ago, are now tremendously significant.

“We talked about him being a great patient and doing everything he’s told to do, because that’s going to have a huge impact on his recovery. And he’s been great about that. He’s been doing everything he should be doing.”

A GU spokesperson said Turiaf has received more than 1,000 e-mails from well-wishers since undergoing his surgery.