Mn. Twins' Kirby Puckett 'fighting for his life' after massive stroke..

[MnFats]

Poor Puck!
hero of '87, '91 series!


www.startribune.com


Kirby Puckett, a Baseball Hall of Famer and the driving force behind the Twins' two World Series titles, was fighting for life Sunday night after he suffered a stroke early Sunday at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Puckett was first rushed to Scottsdale Memorial Hospital, then airlifted to Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn where he was in surgery for most of the afternoon, said Twins President Dave St. Peter. Puckett was transferred after the surgery to St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, St. Peter said.

Two people familiar with Puckett's condition said he suffered bleeding in the brain and surgery was required to drain blood and relieve pressure. Scottsdale Osborn and St. Joseph's representatives said no information on Puckett was available. Both hospitals said they withhold patient identity and condition information at the request of the family.

"It's distressing news," said former Twins manager Tom Kelly, who is working with the team at its spring training camp. "We had a doctor come in and try to explain to us probably what's going to happen. The last thing he said was that if he has good luck, things will hopefully work out. So let's hope that he has good luck."

Puckett, 44, was selected to 10 American League All-Star teams during his 12 major league seasons. He also won six Gold Gloves for his defensive prowess in the outfield and was a career .318 hitter -- well above baseball's standard of excellence of .300. Puckett's career ended prematurely in 1996 because of irreversible damage to his right eye as a result of glaucoma. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001 -- baseball's ultimate honor.

[jus_the_facts]

1. I heard about this earlier on the radio...hope he pulls through....

...and doesn't have any paralysis. :(

[koopie57]

2. the local news talked like he was already dead ...

pissed me off so bad. He is not one to give up easily. Save the memorial for much much later.

[Richard Steele]

4. Please take a grain of salt with your anger...

From all the acounts I am seeing, I have begun to
suspect that his condition is much WORSE than we are being told.

Perhaps your 'local news' was just more honest than most?

I didn't see the 'news' that pissed you off,
so maybe it was as bad as you say.

But I have begun to feel that this stroke was as bad as bad can be;
I don't think we are gonna see him waving at the cameras as he
leaves the hospital any time soon.

This stroke was MAJOR, and he is not yet out of danger of things getting worse.

But he's still relatively young, and certainly a 'world class athlete'...
so an "amazing recovery" would not be so amazing for a guy like him.

We have so few real FACTS; we can only wait and wish him good luck.

[koopie57]

24. In the back of my head

I knew you were right (in a good way :) ) but it just hurt so much and I didn't believer he could actually die.

[truthisfreedom]

3. so young! that's so scary. he's a year younger than i am!

[SquireJons]

5. Quality of life

Even if Puckett does survive, his life as he has known it is already gone. A massive stroke will likely leave him paralyzed, unable to speak or take care of himself in any way. Death would probably be a kinder fate.

[fed-up]

12. The younger one is, the better the chances for recovery-

My mother suffered a massive stroke that left initially left her unable to roll over, utter a single letter of the alphabet, walk, talk, and comprehend little of what was said to her.

The first few months after a stroke will give a good indication of what facilities the patient will recover, but recovery will continue for the life of the patient.

My mother was able to utter simple phrases and walk with a walker within 6 months. Progress was slow, but steady.

Age and the attitide of the patient have a huge impact on the amount of progress the patient will make, depending on the amount of damage done by the loss of blood flow to certain parts of the brain.

In therapy I met a stroke survivor that had lost speech for 10 years, but because he never gave up somehow his brain rewired itself, or grew new connections and when I met him 10 years post stroke he spoke pretty fluently.

The body is an amazing thing, never give up hope!

[Binka]

6. The Best Neurosurgeon In The US Is The Chief At Saint Joe's

Robert Spetzler is a friend and my former physician. Kirby is in the finest of hands.

http://www.bnaneuro.net/barrow_phys_spetzler.html

[DrBloodmoney]

7. Decompressive surgery = massive stroke

He's not going to do well following this.

[no_hypocrisy]

8. Stroke can originate from a chronic condition called atrial fibrillation

where the heart has an eratic beat, not allowing blood to freely circulate. Instead, it can "pool" and clots form. The clots break off and block a major artery to the brain. Unfortunately due to their larger physiques, many athletes are destined to have this condition and are carefully maintained and treated by medical specialists during and after their careers.

[Bluzmann57]

9. He has had a rough time recently

I think he went through a nasty divorce, and I know he has glaucoma. He also grew up tough on the South Side of Chicago. Baseball was his way out and he embraced the Minnesota community, just as they embraced him. Here's hoping for recovery. Kirby Puckett has always seemed like a good guy.
Oops, I see that the original poster already mentioned the glaucoma. Sorry.

[Captain Hilts]

17. It was a VERY ugly divorce. nt

[BlueManDude]

10. praying for ya Kirb

[oldtime dfl_er]

11. damn

hoping for the best for a great American hero!!

http://www.cafepress.com/scarebaby/1255869

[DemonFighterLives]

13. Best wishes to Kirby

Strokes are no fun.

[SaveElmer]

14. Just about the happiest day of my life...

Was when Puck hit that Home Run in Game 6 of the 1991 series...I almost passed out watching that game, and when it went out I started screaming like a madman. Then to have that awesome game the next day...

ESPN ranks that World Series as the greatest of all time...

http://espn.go.com/swf/mlb/anniversary/worldseries_100.html

[MnFats]

16. "And we'll see ya....TOMORROW NIGHT!"

And he FLEW to make that catch that kept the Twins alive...

[SaveElmer]

18. I think there is a plaque...

On the seat where that home run landed...

If you wanna relive the 7th game, the entire thing is on MLB.com for download...I listen to it periodically!!!

[sybylla]

15. How sad.

I never liked Kirby but I don't like to see anyone suffer the effects of stroke.

[goclark]

19. Hope all goes well for him nt

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

20. good thoughts, prayers for Kirby

[progressivebydesign]

21. Healing thoughts for Kirby. That is such a shame to hear. n/t

[Wheres The Beef]

22. Puckett

www.kstp.com/article/stories/S14649.html?cat=1

[DemonFighterLives]

23. Kirby's gone!

Too young to die! :cry: