Alonzo Mourning

Tough times don't last, but tough people do. And I've been through some tough times, and I know a lot of people can recall tough times, and maybe are going through some tough times right now, but they don't last. ”

There's a disappointment there because I still feel there's an emptiness in my career that just wasn't filled. ”

There's nobody else on the face of this earth that's playing a sport at a highest level... with a transplant. That alone continues to inspire me, because I realize throughout the whole world the struggles that people are going through. I need to inspire them the best way I can. ”

If I would have listened to other people back in 2000 telling me I should have stopped playing basketball because of a kidney disease, I wouldn't have won a world championship. ”

Once my doctor began treating my kidney disease, my greatest challenge was the constant exhaustion. Fortunately, my doctor explained that anemia was causing my exhaustion and that people with serious illnesses, like kidney disease, may be at increased risk for anemia. ”

When the new ownership came in, they made some decisions I wasn't pleased with. And when they changed the whole aspect of it, I just totally lost interest. ”

I feel like in America, we don't have a kid problem. You think about all these issues that these kids are dealing with, we have an adult problem. We have adults that do not place the priority on our kids to get a valuable education. ”

We got babies raising babies, and its important for us as responsible adults to go out and do what we can to make sure that our kids are steered in the right direction. ”

I want to live 50 more years. I'm 33 years old... and I want to live to at least be 80 and see my kids grow up and see my grandkids. That's important to me. ”

I was hurting. I had some ailments I was dealing with. It's not like I was holding out. ”