THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 2, 1994 TAG: 9412020804
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
Had Kenny Gattison been struck in the head a little harder and lower, questions about his future as a pro basketball player might be moot. Had Michael Cage's forearm snapped back Gattison's head any more violently in a collision two weeks ago, the former Old Dominion star instead might be contemplating a larger issue - life with at least partial paralysis.
The closeness of that call was on Gattison's mind Thursday when he acknowledged his neck injury could end his NBA career. But if he must walk away from the Charlotte Hornets, he is pleased that he could. Walk, that is.
``I'm in a good mood, actually,'' Gattison said from his home in Charlotte, where the Hornets announced Gattison's season is over. ``This is something the specialists say could've been catastrophic very easily. (Cage's) forearm sort of grazed me on the top of the head. With a solid blow, you never know. That's why I kind of count my blessings.
``How much do I want to gamble to continue to play? Once I have surgery and rehab, we'll see.''
Gattison, 30, sprained his spinal cord near the end of the Hornets' game in Cleveland on Nov. 15. As he and Cage scrapped for a rebound in the final minute of play, Cage caught Gattison with his elbow and arm, hyperextended Gattison's neck and sent him to the floor.
``It felt like my whole body caught on fire,'' Gattison said. ``Like somebody threw acid on me.''
Gattison was helped off the court, and in the days since has seen specialists in Charlotte, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The recommendation is surgery to repair a ruptured disk, fuse Gattison's
fourth and fifth vertebrae and shave a bone spur that is putting pressure on his spinal cord.
``To hear them tell it, it's about as simple a back surgery as they can do,'' Gattison said with a laugh. ``Of course, they don't do it on pro basketball players that much.''
Gattison said he will have the surgery in Charlotte in early January. He expects to wear a neck collar for up to six weeks before a three-month rehabilitation period, after which he will determine his readiness to continue playing.
``We've talked about the risk,'' Gattison said of his doctors. ``You can't put it on a scale. All they can tell me is, yeah, you'll be at more risk than someone without a fused neck and a narrowing in the spinal column, but how much risk is that?''
The mental aspect of preparing to play again, Gattison said, will be hardest to conquer.
``To step on the court and know that once I was almost paralyzed, that's going to be the hurdle,'' Gattison said. ``What's my approach to the game going to be? I can't say. I've had a reconstructed knee before, so I know the doctors can put you back together physically and have everything work well. But this takes a little more than just patch it up and go back and play.''
Gattison is a ninth-year pro who has been with the Hornets since 1989. He is the club's all-time leader in field goal percentage at .531.
``He is a determined individual and has dealt with serious injury before,'' Hornets' coach Allan Bristow said. ``So if anyone can bounce back, Gatt can.''
Gattison said he still has numbness and tingling in some fingers because of the bone spur. But he is able to walk and laugh and play with his wife, Wanda, and two young sons. And naturally, he said, family considerations will hold sway on his decision.
``I would be disappointed if I had to quit playing basketball, because my career could have been cut short by an injury,'' Gattison said. ``But I'd also be thrilled that I accomplished what I did in basketball. And I'm not talking about basketball stuff, because on a basketball scale I haven't accomplished a whole lot. But I've achieved security for my wife and kids, and that's the reason why I started playing basketball to start off with.
``If I can't play basketball anymore, I'll live happily ever after. My life isn't over if I can't play.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
BETH BERGMAN/Staff
Charlotte Hornets forward Kenny Gattison, a former Old Dominion
star, suffered a neck injury Nov. 15 against Cleveland.
Photo ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hornets forward Kenny Gattison, center, is the team's all-time
leader in field-goal percentage at .531.
Graphic
THE GATTISON FILE
Age: 30. Years pro: Nine.
Pro highlights: Third round pick of Phoenix Suns in 1986 draft
... ... Signed as free agent with Charlotte Hornets Dec. 2, 1989 ...
Holds career field goal percentage record with Hornets (.531) ...
Averaged 8.0 points, 4.8 rebounds for career.
College highlights: Averaged 13.3 points and 7.9 rebounds at Old
Dominion ... Sun Belt Player of the Year in 1986 ... Sun Belt career
record-holder for rebounds (963).
by CNB