Ezeli Finds His Donor from Beyond the Grave

The life of a professional athlete is a grueling one.

OK, it beats digging ditches or being chained to a cubicle, but we're talking frame of reference, here.

Dudes have to dedicate countless hours to crafting the perfect body.

Despite all jocks do to maintain theirs, the human body doesn’t always cooperate. Greg Oden probably knows this better than anybody.  

Yes, the ol' bod ain’t built to last.

This is a major problem for those who depend on it in order to put food on the table.

Or a second Maserati in the garage.

Luckily, for many an athlete, medical science has worked miracles over the past few decades. No longer is an injury a sporting career's death sentence. Well, unless you’re a racehorse, that is, but let’s focus on the more positive developments.

Who can forget the Germany Procedure that helped keep Kobe in the NBA well into his late 30’s?

The Portland Trail Blazers' Festus Ezeli has been no stranger to career altering injuries. After signing a 2-year, $15.2million deal this offseason, dude has yet to suit up for his new team.

The culprit: a debilitating knee injury.

Back in August, Ezeli had a bone marrow injection in hopes of fixing his ailing left knee, but the treatment suffered a setback.

By December, it was likely he'd have season-ending surgery. However, Ezeli is only now getting the surgery.

Why the delay in surgery time?

It requires a cadaver donor, ie- tissue from a dead body.

Due to Ezeli’s size -- 6-11, 265 -- it was difficult to find a suitable donor in such a short period of time.

Ezeli won't be the only athlete to receive a tissues from a cadaver. Arizona Cardinals QB Carson Palmer relied on cadaver tissues back in 2006 to create a new ACL. Palmer tore it in an 05’ playoff game against the Steelers, an injury that had threated to end his football career.

Clearly, the loss of any human life is a tragedy. But according to the Blue Öyster Cult, 40,000 men and women go every day because ... well, just because.

But if any silver lining can come from it, a man was able to continue to pursue his dreams because of a donation from the purest form of human kindness.

Hopefully for Ezeli, the surgery will enable him to prolong his NBA career.

Both for his own hopes and for the hopes of a soul lost before his time.