PEOPLE: Scott Hamilton Bouncing Back After Brain Surgery, Aneurysm

[Tonichelle]

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20445123,00.html

Olympic ice skating champ Scott Hamilton is a fighter.

The same tough spirit that led him to win a gold medal has helped Hamilton, 52, overcome a difficult medical crisis – undergoing brain surgery to remove a tumor and later having a brain aneurysm removed.

"This," says Hamilton, tongue firmly planted in cheek, "was not the way to spend your summer vacation."

I knew about the Brain Surgery but not the Aneurysm! So glad he made it!

 

[dorispulaski]

I didn't know this

Hamilton suffered the loss of two-thirds of the vision in his right eye – a known risk of the surgery.

That's truly dreadful.

He's an amazing guy.

 

[aftertherain]

I have so much respect for him. I don't always agree with his commentary, but you've gotta admit, this man is a fighter. He overcame a childhood disease, battled testicular cancer and won, and then now this?

Much respect to you, Scott! You're an amazing person!

 

[iluvtodd]

I didn't know this


That's truly dreadful.

He's an amazing guy.

This news about the anuerysm and the vision loss came as a total shock! While I'm not always crazy about Scott as a commentator (although I do admire his enthusiam for the sport), I love just about everything else about him. May he not have any more medical battles!

 

[Tonichelle]

I have so much respect for him. I don't always agree with his commentary, but you've gotta admit, this man is a fighter. He overcame a childhood disease, battled testicular cancer and won, and then now this?

Much respect to you, Scott! You're an amazing person!

actually, while they can't be 100% positive, they believe the pitutitary tumor that was removed in 2005-ish is what caused his stunted growth as a child. When he started skating it stopped the tumor's growth, when he finally stopped skating the tumor started growing again and they caught it. He spoke on that in a couple of documentaries he's done since 06.

 

[aftertherain]

actually, while they can't be 100% positive, they believe the pitutitary tumor that was removed in 2005-ish is what caused his stunted growth as a child. When he started skating it stopped the tumor's growth, when he finally stopped skating the tumor started growing again and they caught it. He spoke on that in a couple of documentaries he's done since 06.

Doens't mean he's any less of a fighter though.

 

[Tonichelle]

Doens't mean he's any less of a fighter though.

didn't say he wasn't.

 

[Olympia]

actually, while they can't be 100% positive, they believe the pitutitary tumor that was removed in 2005-ish is what caused his stunted growth as a child. When he started skating it stopped the tumor's growth, when he finally stopped skating the tumor started growing again and they caught it. He spoke on that in a couple of documentaries he's done since 06.

Oh, my goodness, Toni--that never occurred to me! Now that you mention it, it makes perfect sense that a pituitary tumor would affect growth, because that's the gland that governs such things. I had read about the tumor, but of course my attention was caught by the aneurysm and the vision loss. He's like the energizer bunny, isn't he? Nothing slows him down. Or that watch that "takes a licking and keeps on ticking"--was it Timex? I just love him, whether I agree or disagree with any of his particular comments. He's clearly devoted to skating and the skate community, as well as to his own family. Blessings on him; he's a champ in every way.

 

[Tonichelle]

Oh, my goodness, Toni--that never occurred to me! Now that you mention it, it makes perfect sense that a pituitary tumor would affect growth, because that's the gland that governs such things. I had read about the tumor, but of course my attention was caught by the aneurysm and the vision loss. He's like the energizer bunny, isn't he? Nothing slows him down. Or that watch that "takes a licking and keeps on ticking"--was it Timex? I just love him, whether I agree or disagree with any of his particular comments. He's clearly devoted to skating and the skate community, as well as to his own family. Blessings on him; he's a champ in every way.

Amen to that. He's been my hero for as long as I can remember.

 

[Olympia]

Or, as Katia wrote in her book, Skate God for Life.

 

[Tonichelle]

Or, as Katia wrote in her book, Skate God for Life.

Kurt also calls him that... though he called him a "Skate Ninja" in his (way outdated) book.

 

[Bluebonnet]

Scott is amazing! I admire him so much! Truth to be told, I actually like his commentating more than his skating.

 

[Mathman]

His skating was great, his commentating always a hoot. But his genius is in his showmanship and entrepreneurial talent.

He was kicked out of Ice Capades because who wants to see a male skater? So he went out and created a market for his product and a vehicle -- Stars on Ice -- to bring it to the public. Ice Capades is gone, along with COI, but Scott's enterprise has long outlasted his own career as a performer.

U.S. skating fans remember Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamil, Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan with affection. But Scott's "The Man"!

 

[Olympia]

His skating was great, his commentating always a hoot. But his genius is in his showmanship and entrepreneurial talent.

He was kicked out of Ice Capades because who wants to see a male skater? So he went out and created a market for his product and a vehicle -- Stars on Ice -- to bring it to the public. Ice Capades is gone, along with COI, but Scott's enterprise has long outlasted his own career as a performer.

U.S. skating fans remember Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamil, Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan with affection. But Scott's "The Man"!

One of the most visionary things Scott did was to create a show that really was an integrated theatrical production. Skaters didn't just come out and skate a solo number, or their current competitive exhibition program. Everything was choreographed to go together.

What's more, I think he seems to have created a skating family. The most obvious result of that was the way Katia was able to have the support of a warm environment after Sergei's death, and to try out her fledgling new solo skating career. Daria certainly benefited from all those aunties and uncles.

Both of those elements probably lengthened the career of some hugely influential skaters, such as Browning and Wylie, and even Torvill and Dean. It gave skaters a chance to try innovative choreography and fans a chance to broaden their horizons.

 

[Bluebonnet]

It's his SOI entrepreneurial and his never-give-up fighting with his illnesses set him apart from other Olympic level skaters. He is truly a hero!