LaVar Ball Announces Health Update Following Sudden Leg Amputation

Ball revealed more about the amputation in an essay for Slam on Tuesday. He had to have the operation due to a complication from diabetes.

"I had an infection on my foot that started spreading through my blood due to not paying attention to my diabetes. I ended up having to get my leg amputated. First, they cut off a couple of toes. Then they cut off my foot. Then they said, 'We gotta go almost knee-high for another surgery,'" Ball wrote. "Three surgeries. And then there were also the blood transfusions. Not one, not two, not three, four different times."

He continued on, revealing that he struggled through the treatment, but seeing his sons keep succeeding helped him keep going.

"All those surgeries and blood transfusions, it made me question whether it was worth going through it sometimes," Ball wrote. "But then seeing what my boys are doing out there, they’re like, 'Dad, you're the toughest dude I know.' That made me keep going. Even though I’m a bad man—I don’t need much—it was good to have that backing from my boys. One of the things that makes me go is when they are all together. When they are all together, I feel strong."

Due to his situation, Ball took the opportunity to encourage people to keep up on their own health. He honestly admitted that he could have prevented what has happened to him if he had paid more attention.

"Get your checkups," he said. "Do what you’re supposed to do. If you don’t have insurance, go to urgent care. Because I’m going to tell you this, a little amputation and a little of this, it could all have been prevented."