Post by TheShadow on Dec 20, 2007 17:59:52 GMT -5
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By Jim Jenkins
True to his irrepressible, iron-man reputation, Jim Otto isn't going to let two more life-threatening surgeries, one recent and another scheduled for early next year, ruin the holiday season.
"Our family plans to have a very good holiday, a house full of people, including my eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren," the Raiders' Hall of Fame center said last week from his home in Auburn.
That Otto, who continues to suffer the effects of a battle-scarred pro football career, is able to anticipate Christmas and New Year's wasn't a sure thing as recently as three months ago.
He had his right leg amputated above the knee July 19 at a Salt Lake City hospital. Then, with wife Sally at his bedside, he endured several weeks of excruciating pain and follow-up surgical procedures needed to avoid the spread of potentially fatal infection.
"Sally has been my quarterback through all this," said Otto, who was unable to return to California until mid-September. "Again, I could have never gotten through this without her."
"Jim's trying very hard to adjust," Sally Otto said. "Doctors told him it takes more energy to walk with an artificial leg, and that can tire him out, but I think his spirit has been very good through all this."
Early next year, Otto said he will have open-heart surgery for a condition related to ongoing health issues. The surgery will be performed at UC Davis Medical Center, where he has been both a prostate cancer patient and a major fund-raiser for prostate cancer research.
"I am very fortunate to be here," said Otto, who remains under close medical scrutiny. "I feel very blessed. The (post-amputation) was the worst pain I've ever been through in my life."
Remarkably, Otto, who turns 70 next month, has been able to attend almost all of the Raiders' home games, missing only the season opener.
"I've been using a prosthetic leg for a couple weeks now, so I'm still pretty sore there, but I've been doing pretty good otherwise," he said. "I used a wheelchair to go to the games. …
"For years, you know, I've been able to sit next to (owner Al Davis) in his booth, but now I sit in a suite just below because it's a little hard for me now to go up that extra flight."
Otto also periodically visits the Raiders' headquarters in Alameda, where he has served as the team's special-projects coordinator.
"I want to stay in contact with people as best I can, but my time around the office is very limited now," he said. "I'm mostly checking my messages and making phone calls."
Otto played in 210 consecutive games, still a Raiders record, starting every game of a 15-year career that began in 1960 with the formation of the American Football League. Counting exhibition and postseason games, he appeared in 308 games, frequently playing through injuries that would sideline most players.
Otto was the Raiders' only starting center during the AFL's 10-year existence. He also was the only center named to each of the league's all-star teams and in 1980 was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the first Raider so honored.
His longevity and ability to play with pain eventually took its toll, however, leading to more than 50 surgeries and leaving Otto extremely prone to infections.
His physical problems this year kept him from attending training camp and in-season practices, but he already is an admirer of Lane Kiffin, the Raiders' rookie coach. Beyond Oakland's won-lost record, Otto said he can see improvement in the team's play this year and attributes much of that to Kiffin.
"He has to be given time to install his philosophy and I think it's important that he's not one to make excuses," Otto said.
Otto was on hand for the debut of rookie quarterback JaMarcus Russell, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, in a Dec. 2 victory over Denver. The former LSU star impressed him.
"He wasn't in for that many plays," Otto said, "but I thought he made some good decisions with the ball. It was enough for Raiders fans to lick their chops and get a glimpse of what he can be in the future."