Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
Former Los Angeles Clippers coach Kim Hughes is used to helping players, but it was players who stepped up for him in his time of need.
In September 2004, while he was a Clippers assistant, Hughes was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was premed at Wisconsin, so he had an idea what he was up against. His doctor told him that he could wait a few months for surgery, but the team was preparing for training camp and he didn’t want to miss a chunk of the season recuperating. So Hughes went for a second opinion and found a doctor who would do the surgery a week later.
“But he wasn’t covered under my insurance plan,” Hughes told ESPNLosAngeles.com. “We had a certain group of doctors we could go to. So if I elected to use him, it’d be out of my pocket.
“[The Clippers] didn’t talk to me directly about it. They told, I believe my agent, that the reason they couldn’t pay for the surgery is if they paid for mine, if anybody else had a problem — head coach, secretary, assistant coach — if they paid for mine, the onus would be on them for everybody else.
“I said, ‘That’s fine. I choose to try and save my life, and if I have to pay for it myself, I will.'”
Then coach Mike Dunleavy, who had recommended the new doctor, mentioned Hughes’ plight to some players.
Several players on that team — including Corey Maggette, Chris Kaman, Elton Brand and Marko Jaric — offered to help.
“Kim was one of our coaches and he’s a really good friend of mine, too,” Maggette said, according to the Journal Times of Racine, Wis. “He was in a situation where the Clippers’ medical coverage wouldn’t cover his surgery. I thought it was a great opportunity to help someone in need, to do something that Christ would do.
“It shows your humanity, that you care for other people and not just yourself. Kim was in a life-and-death situation.”
Hughes’ desire to get the surgery over with quickly proved to be a smart move. The cancer had progressed and was threatening other parts of his body.
“Normally it’s a very slow-growing cancer,” Hughes told ESPNLosAngeles.com, adding that his father and twin brother also had prostate cancer. “It’s one of the slowest, but mine was caused by genetic factors and it was a very aggressive and fast-spreading cancer.”
Hughes had his entire prostate removed and didn’t miss training camp, thanks to the players.
“Those guys saved my life,” Hughes said, according to the Journal Times. “They paid the whole medical bill. It was like $70,000 or more. It wasn’t cheap.
WRITTEN BY ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Ramona Shelburne contributed to this report & FULL STORY HERE
