NBA Update: Mike Miller’s new born daughter out of the hospital
On Saturday, Miami Heat’s reserve small forward Mike Miller brought his new born daughter home for the first time. The baby girl, named Jaelyn, had been in the intensive paediatric unit at a South Florida hospital’s due to cardiac
birth complications. Jaelyn has four holes in her heart, a condition described by medical personnel as ventricular septal defect.
However, her condition is much stable now and the doctors have allowed the parents to take her home. Miller was visibly ecstatic with the development and he told the press that it was a big boost for his family,
"Obviously, that's my main concern right now," Miller said. "She's doing a lot better, which is big."
However, given the serious nature of the ailment, Jaelyn will undergo intensive care and doctors are scheduled to have a series of checkups in the coming weeks, the first of which will take place on the very night the Heat take
on the Dallas Mavericks in the game-1 of the NBA Finals.
Even with a star studded roster, Miller is an important player for the Heat in the NBA Finals and he will be the key in countering the deep bench that the Mavs posses. Mike showcased his importance for the side when he came off
the bench in game-4 of the Conference Finals against the Bulls to hit some big shots, including two hugely significant ones from beyond the arc. Miller’s timely spurt gave Miami the momentum they required to win the game that night.
However, his daughter is obviously much more important for Miller than the Finals or anything else for that matter. Mike has been on Jaelyn’s side throughout the turmoil and only left to play the series ending game-5 in Chicago,
once her condition started to improve. Even then, it was a very hard call for Miller.
The anxiety in his voice was clear when he spoke of his daughter’s condition,
"They started her on some meds," Miller said. "Her breathing got a little better. It's still not where we want it. But we're going to find out this week and figure out in the next hopefully month or two if she'll need surgery or
not."
He also spoke how hard it is to concentrate for a player when he has other issues to deal with. Miller’s teammates have been supportive of him throughout his period of strife and the forward acknowledged that fact,
"Obviously, there's guys that understand what's going on as an athlete, when you have something else going on, because everyone's kind of been through, I'm sure, something personal when they're playing," Miller said.
One such player is Udonis Haslem. Haslem just returned from injury himself and had similar testing times when his son was born, back in February of this year. Haslem and the rest of the Miami players will be hoping Jaelyn gets
better as soon as possible and Miller can come back into the fold, with full concentration.
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