- January 27th, 2006, 11:16 am
#1740
well the cat is out of the bag on coach baucom at VMI. he has a heart problem, and it looks as if it is a hereditary problem. hopefully he will return when ihe is fully recovered. this is from the roanoke fishwrap.
Baucom has heart ailment
The VMI basketball coach has had two surgeries and several other procedures since taking a medical leave from the team Dec. 31.
By Mark Berman, 981-3125
After multiple heart surgeries and angioplasties, VMI basketball coach Duggar Baucom hopes to return to work in mid-February.
Baucom, in his first season at VMI, hasn't coached the Keydets since a Dec. 31 loss at Maryland. VMI has said Baucom, 45, was recuperating from surgery but hasn't disclosed any details.
It turns out that Baucom has twice been hospitalized this month.
"It was scary for my family," Baucom said in a phone interview Tuesday, three days after being released from the University of Virginia Medical Center. "I feel great now. I'm getting back, slowly but surely.
"I never thought this would happen ... because I tried to stay in shape."
Baucom had a heart attack in 1990, when he was given a combination defibrillator and pacemaker. He was diagnosed at the time with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy -- the disease that killed former Loyola Marymount star Hank Gathers. The disease causes the thickening of the heart muscle.
Baucom's father and uncle also had the disease; Baucom's father died during surgery at 42, and Baucom's uncle died at 20 while playing basketball.
Baucom entered UVa Medical Center on Jan. 3 to get a new defibrillator-pacemaker put in because his pacemaker had eroded. He had wanted to put off the surgery until after the season, but the doctors told him not to because the erosion could have caused an infection.
Baucom, who had his original pacemaker replaced with no problem in 1998, expected his hospital stay to last just one night and didn't expect to miss any games. But this time, there were "major" complications with faulty wiring, which led to a second operation. He was released on Jan. 7.
The surgeries gave Baucom chest trauma. He had "enormous swelling" and "major clotting" in his chest and left arm. His defibrillator also went off. He returned to the hospital on Jan. 11.
He needed six angioplasties, which are nonsurgical procedures in which a balloon catheter is inserted to open a blocked artery. The procedures opened blood vessels in his chest, neck and shoulder. He also had thrombolysis, a treatment in which blood thinners were put into his arm through a catheter.
Baucom, who has lost 27 pounds, briefly visited his team at VMI on Tuesday and hopes to watch practice from the stands today.
Baucom expects to resume coaching at some point next month, perhaps in mid-February.
"I'm not going to push it. I've kind of learned my lesson," he said. "I've got to get my strength back and get moving a little better.
"I'm not in a hurry to rush back."
The Keydets are 2-4 under 27-year-old assistant Daniel Willis, who has been serving as interim coach. VMI (7-10, 2-4 Big South) visits Radford on Thursday.
- By LU Armchair coach
