In a personal essay published Tuesday in Slam Magazine, LaVar Ball detailed a life-threatening health scare that led to his right leg being amputated below the knee in January.

Complications from diabetes led to him being hospitalized for over a month, needing three amputations and four blood transfusions.

LaVar Ball first gained national attention in 2016, as the loquacious former athlete began predicting that all three of his sons would play in the NBA, going as far as to compare his eldest son, Lonzo, favorably to four-time NBA champion Steph Curry.