Mourning and Elliott - NBA transplant recipients

What kind of career can you have after a kidney transplant?  Well, at least 2 NBA players went back to work.  

Former NBA player Sean Elliott played for the San Antonio Spurs for 11 seasons and one for the Detroit Pistons.  In 1999, he was diagnosed with focal glomeruloscleros, a rare kidney disease.  In August 2000, he received a kidney from his brother, Noel.  And went back to work a few months later.  Elliott retired in 2001.

NBA Star Alonzo Mourning also received a kidney transplant.  Mourning had a long NBA career, most of which was with the Miami Heat.  He was in the Dream Team II, 7 all star games, and was twice named NBA defensive player of the year.   His coach, Pat Riley, said of him, "Alonzo is a whirling dervish, a cyclone of a player. He embodies everything we want this team to be--passionate, committed, aggressive, tireless."

In 2000, Mourning was diagnosed with the same rare diseas: focal glomerulosclerosis, and in 2003 was told he would need a kidney transplant.   Three months later, Mourning received a kidney from a cousin he barely knew, Jason Cooper.   He re-joined the Miami Heat, won an NBA championship with them in 2006, and continued to be a star player until his retirement in 2009. 

Now Mourning runs Zo's Fund for Life, and several other charities aimed at fighting kidney disease and helping at-risk youth.

Both men are extraordinary people who had extraordinary careers.  Both men were lucky to have heroes.  Both men are an inspiration -- people who kept heart, kept the faith, and who overcame the odds.