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Caledfwlch
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http://planetrugby.com/Story/0,18259,3551_2635084,00.html
Springbok loose forward Pierre Spies may never play rugby again, after it has been revealed that his withdrawal from the World Cup squad was because he could be suffering from the same rare blood disease that killed his father and grandfather.
Spies was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism (blood clots in the lungs) and withdrew from the South African team on Monday.
The initial prognoses was that he would be sidelined for at least six to eight months.
However, it has now been revealed that the cause could be a hereditary genetic condition.
Pierre Spies senior, a champion hurdler and a star winger for Northern Transvaal (now Blue Bulls) in the 1970s, died of a heart attack at age 54.
Spies junior's aunt also has the rare blood condition, while his grandfather also died of a related illness.
The condition, in layman's terms, means that Spies's blood is thicker than that of the average person.
If his blood clots and goes into his brain, it could result in a stroke. If the clot goes into his heart he will have a heart attack.
If the young Bok loose forward's condition is indeed hereditary, Spies may have to take blood-thinning medicine for the rest of his life, ruling out all contact sport.
It was only after Spies started coughing up blood during training that it came to light that he may have the condition.
Scans showed he had clots on both lungs.
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so much for spies being the no 1 8 man in the world. he might not EVER play rugby again. i think we can strike him off the best 8 man discussion
Springbok loose forward Pierre Spies may never play rugby again, after it has been revealed that his withdrawal from the World Cup squad was because he could be suffering from the same rare blood disease that killed his father and grandfather.
Spies was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism (blood clots in the lungs) and withdrew from the South African team on Monday.
The initial prognoses was that he would be sidelined for at least six to eight months.
However, it has now been revealed that the cause could be a hereditary genetic condition.
Pierre Spies senior, a champion hurdler and a star winger for Northern Transvaal (now Blue Bulls) in the 1970s, died of a heart attack at age 54.
Spies junior's aunt also has the rare blood condition, while his grandfather also died of a related illness.
The condition, in layman's terms, means that Spies's blood is thicker than that of the average person.
If his blood clots and goes into his brain, it could result in a stroke. If the clot goes into his heart he will have a heart attack.
If the young Bok loose forward's condition is indeed hereditary, Spies may have to take blood-thinning medicine for the rest of his life, ruling out all contact sport.
It was only after Spies started coughing up blood during training that it came to light that he may have the condition.
Scans showed he had clots on both lungs.
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so much for spies being the no 1 8 man in the world. he might not EVER play rugby again. i think we can strike him off the best 8 man discussion
I was really looking forward to seeing him play more. Oh well, as you said Caledfwlch, we can strike him of the best loosies or number 8 discussion.
