Surgery a success for Eagles' Andrews
May 26, 2004
SportsLine.com wire reports
PHILADELPHIA -- Eating, breathing and sleeping have long been a challenge for Philadelphia Eagles guard Shawn Andrews -- until now.
Andrews and the rest of the Eagles' rookies participated in the first day of the team's rookie minicamp on Wednesday. It was one of the first workouts for Andrews, the Eagles' first-round pick in this year's draft, since he underwent surgery May 7 to remove polyps from his nasal passages.
The polyps hindered Andrews' ability to breathe through his nose, while also impairing his sense of smell. During his college career at Arkansas, Andrews took medication that not only relieved the condition, but also helped cause the offensive lineman's weight to balloon to about 400 pounds.
During the hour-and-a-half procedure, the surgeon removed polyps, some the size of small grapes, from Andrews' nose.
When the Eagles traded up to select him with the 16th overall pick, the 6-foot-4 Andrews had slimmed down to 345 pounds. Now, he's 349.
"I did splurge to see how it felt to taste some of the foods I was eating but missed out on how they taste," said Andrews, who has consulted a nutritionist and plans to stick to a healthy diet.
In addition to allowing him to taste what he's eating, he said the surgery keeps him in better shape because it improved his breathing.
"I get more oxygen," Andrews said. "I sat out for two and half weeks after the surgery, and I came back, and I wasn't as out of shape as I thought I would be. One, because I kept eating right, and two because I get more oxygen."
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2004, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
I know he's an Eagle, but since a few days before the draft, I've really liked this guy. He's a real trooper. I heard John Clayton say on ESPN that at Arkansas he played with one nostril 90% blocked and the other about 35-40% blocked. I think those are the correct percentiles.
He's a beast. He played at 400 pounds and with 70% (out of 200) breathing power and was STILL able to be the 16th overall pick. He's going to be good for Philly.
