Fri., Jan. 23, 2009
SALT LAKE CITY - Longtime Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller’s legs were amputated 6 inches below the knee on Friday.

Jazz spokesman Jonathan Richart said Friday’s surgery was the result of complications from Type 2 diabetes. Rinehart said the 64-year-old Miller is recovering in a hospital.

“Larry is doing well and is expected to continue to recover in the coming weeks and months,” Greg Miller, Larry Miller’s son, said in a statement. The statement said Miller’s family would not be releasing any details.

Rinehart said Miller was already using a wheelchair before the surgery. In October, doctors found a bone infection and diabetic ulcers on one of Miller’s feet. He had outpatient surgery.

Miller had a heart attack over the summer. Complications including kidney failure and gastrointestinal bleeding that required blood transfusions followed, keeping him in the hospital for nearly two months. Medical problems continued, including a nine-day hospitalization for dialysis to remove excess water weight.

Miller bought a 50 percent share of the Jazz in 1985 and purchased the rest of the team a year later. Due to his father’s health, Greg Miller was selected as the CEO of the Larry H. Miller Group over the summer.

Make no mistake about this fact; Diabetes is an equal opportunity problem. It cares not if you are rich or poor, or if you are famous or unknown. If you fail to be honest with yourself about your diabetes and how you care for your body this same thing can happen to you.

Let what happened to Mr. Miller be both a warning and a motivation to you to properly manage your blood sugar levels and practice preventive behaviors so you can Keep The Legs You Stand On!

-drhinkes