Venus Appearance on Good Morning America

(Comment at Blog: WILLIAMS SISTERS ROCK to leave Venus a get well message http://williamssistersrock.wordpress.com/)

Venus: ‘Absolutely’ will return from illness


NEW YORK (AP & staff) — Venus Williams says she “absolutely” plans to return to tennis after she withdrew from the U.S. Open because of a recently diagnosed autoimmune disease.

Williams revealed Wednesday after pulling out of her second-round match that she had Sjogren’s syndrome, which can cause fatigue and joint pain.

“I think the best thing that could have happened for me this summer was to feel worse so I could feel better,” Williams said in an interview Thursday with ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

The seven-time Grand Slam champion said she’d had problems with stamina for several years, which she now believes were caused by Sjogren’s. It wasn’t until she developed more concrete symptoms in the last few months that she was diagnosed.

“Sjogren’s is something you live with your whole life,” Williams said. “The good news for me is now I know what’s happening after spending years not knowing. … I feel like I can get better and move on.”

She said she suffered from swelling, numbness and “debilitating” fatigue.

“It’s not that you don’t have energy; you just feel beat up,” the 31-year-old American said.


Williams said she initially thought of playing at the Open.

“OK, I could walk out on the court. I’m a tough woman. I’m a tough athlete. I’ve played through a lot of things,” she said. “But what kind of match it would be? It was a tough decision, but at the same time I’ve had to come to accept what I’m going through.”

Williams had cited a virus in withdrawing from hard-court tuneup tournaments after losing in the fourth round at Wimbledon in late June. She played for the first time in two months Monday, beating Vesna Dolonts 6-4, 6-3 in the first round in New York.

According to the Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation website, the disease is a chronic autoimmune illness in which white blood cells attack moisture-producing glands. Common symptoms include dry eyes and dry mouth. As many as 4 million Americans have the disease.

Despite all of her past success, including a brief stint at No. 1, Williams was unseeded at the U.S. Open. She’s fallen to 36th in the rankings after a year of little action. Since reaching the semifinals at the 2010 U.S. Open, Williams has played only 11 matches. The WTA projects her ranking now will slide out of the top 100.

It’s been a year of health scares for the Williams sisters. Younger sister Serena suffered from a blot clot in her lungs over the winter. Serena Williams plays in the second round of the U.S. Open on Thursday.

Venus said Serena’s travails had already given her a new perspective.

“So this, right now, I think will help me to feel grateful for everything that I have,” she said. “And at the same time it makes me want to get up and fight harder every single day.”


[SEND VENUS A GET WELL MESSAGE go to Blog: WILLIAMS SISTERS ROCK to leave your comment. http://williamssistersrock.wordpress.com/)[/B]]
 
She has had an amazing career thus far. It will be an uphill battle to return to form. Wishing and praying for her health no matter what she decides.
 

BULLZ1LLA

Banned
(She has a huge advantage now, she has the diagnosis, so she can treat the problem. Whereas before, she had to play with the condition without doing anything about it medically. Would not be surprising to see her winning Wimbledon again, now that she has the correct treatment in place)
 

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
If she has Sjogren's, a condition not dissimilar from lupus, she'll have difficulty resuming her career. Many potential complications but just the lethargy would make it difficult to play tennis seriously. Throw in treatment, such as steroids with the attendant fluid retention and weight gain, and tennis is usually the last thing on one's mind. "She has done it before"....ummm, no, not under this circumstance.
 

sureshs

Bionic Poster
How do we even know it is true? I think there are lots of doctors who are willing to write up anything about injuries if a player doesn't want to play.
 

heftylefty

Hall of Fame
The tooliness hear is amazing. Why would anyone make Sjogren's Syndrome?

The hate is just simply amazing.
 

sureshs

Bionic Poster
The tooliness hear is amazing. Why would anyone make Sjogren's Syndrome?

The hate is just simply amazing.

Nothing to do with her in particular. Lots of people out there claiming illnesses to get disability benefits or simply as a tactic at work. Plenty of accident lawyers have doctors on their list who will certify about your injuries. An illness gives a player a legal reason to selectively play tournaments and skip mandatory ones.
 

heftylefty

Hall of Fame
Nothing to do with her in particular. Lots of people out there claiming illnesses to get disability benefits or simply as a tactic at work. Plenty of accident lawyers have doctors on their list who will certify about your injuries. An illness gives a player a legal reason to selectively play tournaments and skip mandatory ones.

Wow...nice spin. But since you made your comments on a Thread about Venus William, I'm guessing your comments were directed at her.
 

sureshs

Bionic Poster
Wow...nice spin. But since you made your comments on a Thread about Venus William, I'm guessing your comments were directed at her.

Yeah obviously.

And it is all the more suspicious because it was predicted that she was going to lose to Lisicki. And also hard to believe a doctor delivering a diagnosis a half-hour before a match when she was in the locker room, and the ready state of the press release. It may be true, but she could have just pulled out of the Open and given someone else a chance.
 

heftylefty

Hall of Fame
I would love to take sureshs' post seriously...but I can't. Talk about going off the rails.

What part of Venus' quote you didn't get:

“Sjogren’s is something you live with your whole life,” Williams said. “The good news for me is now I know what’s happening after spending years not knowing. … I feel like I can get better and move on.”


You don't like Venus & it's cool. I don't like brussle sprout; it's ill-rational too, but I get it. But come on.
 
Last edited:

sureshs

Bionic Poster
I would love to take suresh's post seriously...but I can't. Talk about going off the rails.

What part of Venus' quote you didn't get:

“Sjogren’s is something you live with your whole life,” Williams said. “The good news for me is now I know what’s happening after spending years not knowing. … I feel like I can get better and move on.”


You don't like Venus & it's cool. I don't like brussle sprout; it's ill-rational too, but I get it. But come on.

I like Venus and Serena a lot. That has nothing to do with this. I am just saying that it sounds a bit odd to me. I am also saying what many are thinking, but not saying, I am quite sure of that.
 

heftylefty

Hall of Fame
What is odd about not knowing you may have a medical condition; and wondering why you feel ill or your joints are hurting? And then you discover the reason why...thus Venus' quote.
 
Top