Former Celtics player Scot Pollard, who was on Survivor, is waiting for a heart transplant in the hospital.

It’s not as though having height is a sin. It’s not. It remains a boon. However, Pollard stated, “I’ve known my entire life that there’s a good chance I wasn’t going to get old.”It might be killing him now.

Pollard is in critical need of a heart transplant, which is made more challenging by the fact that so few donors are able to give him a pump large and powerful enough to deliver blood to his extraordinarily huge frame. He will remain in intensive care at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center until a donor who is large enough to match him becomes available. He was brought there on Tuesday.

In an evening text to The Associated Press, he stated, “I’m staying here until I get a heart.” “My heart grew softer. “This is my best chance to obtain a heart more quickly,” the doctors concur.

Pollard’s stature, standing at about 7 feet tall and weighing 260 pounds when playing, disqualifies most people from being suitable heart donors. His current heart is pounding 10,000 times a day more than it should because of a hereditary issue most likely brought on by a virus he contracted in 2021. Scot’s father, who passed away at the age of 54 when he was sixteen, shared the same ailment as half of his siblings.

In a subsequent phone conversation, Pollard stated, “That was an immediate wake-up call.” “You’re not After leading Kansas to four consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 appearances, Pollard was selected in the first round of the 1997 NBA Draft. For the majority of his 11-year NBA career, which spanned five clubs, Pollard was a valuable big man off the bench. He participated in just 55 seconds of action during the 2007 NBA Finals trip with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The following year, despite suffering a season-ending ankle injury in February, he won it all with the Boston Celtics.

Pollard retired after that season, then dabbled in broadcasting and acting. He was a contestant on the 32nd season of “Survivor,” where he was voted out on Day 27 with eight castaways remaining.

Although Pollard, 48, has been aware of the condition at least since his father died in the 1990s, it wasn’t until he got sick three years ago that it began to affect his quality of life.

“It feels like I’m walking uphill all the time,” he said on the telephone, when he warned a reporter that he might need to cut it short if he got tired.

Pollard tried medication, and has had three ablations — procedures to try to break up the signals causing the irregular heartbeats. A pacemaker implanted about a year go only gets to about half of the problem.

“They all agree that more ablations isn’t going to fix this, more medication isn’t going to fix that,” Pollard said. “We need a transplant.”

Patients in need of an organ transplant have to navigate a labyrinthine system that attempts to fairly match the donated organs with the recipients in need. The matching process takes the health of the patient into account, all with the goal of maximizing the benefit of the limited organs available.

It’s out of my hands. It’s not even in the doctor’s hands,” Pollard said. “It’s up to the donor networks.”

To maximize his chances, Pollard was advised to register at as many transplant centers as possible — “it’s increasing my odds at the casino by going to as many casinos at the same time as possible,” he said. But: He must be able to get there within four hours; the need to return for post-operative visits also make it difficult to get treated far from home.

Pollard listed himself at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in his hometown of Carmel, Indiana, and last week went through testing at the University of Chicago. He traveled this week to Vanderbilt, which performed 128 adult heart transplants in a record year in 2023. Pollard arrived on Sunday; on Tuesday, doctors admitted him to the I.C.U.

There, Pollard will wait for a new heart – one that is healthy enough to give him a chance, and big enough to fit his oversized frame. He had been living as Status 4 — for those who are in stable condition — but now that he is hospitalized he could be eligible for Status 2, the second-highest priority.

“They can’t predict, but they are confident I’ll get a heart in weeks not months,” he texted.

Pollard acknowledged it’s strange to be hoping for a donor to surface, which is essentially rooting for someone to die.

“The fact is, that person’s going to end up saving someone else’s life. They’re going to be a hero,” he said. “That’s how I look at it. I understand what has to happen for me to get what I need. So it’s a real hard mix of emotions.”

Pollard waits till then knowing that the same genetic anomaly that made him a basketball great and, thus far, his most significant accomplishment, could also prove to be a defining cause in his demise.
He has known this since the passing of his father.
He remarked, “I’ve thought about that my entire life.” “My family is made up of giants. I have three brothers who are taller than me, and I am the youngest of six children. And everyone is always saying, “Oh my god, I wish I was as tall as you.” Yes? See how much you want to be this tall by going to sit on a flight together.
It’s not as though being tall brings bad luck. It’s not. It remains a boon. However, I have known throughout my life