An interview with Kyle Kuric about basketball, brain surgery and how fast life can change

LOUISVILLE, (WDRB) -- Former Louisville Cardinal Kyle Kuric was playing professional basketball in Spain. He was married to the love of his life and celebrating the recent birth of twin sons.

But a sudden, severe headache shows how fast life can change. It was the first warning sign of a long journey to come.

"We were really concerned the next day when he didn't play in the game," Kyle's dad, Dr. Steve Kuric, said. "It's very unusual for him not to play, we knew something was wrong."

Doctors discovered a brain tumor, requiring emergency surgery.

Kuric's mom is a nurse practitioner and his dad a neurosurgeon in Louisville -- so they had a deeper understanding of the risks and were concerned after hearing news from Kuric's wife.

"She said when she got to the hospital she was having hard time rousing him, she was having to shake him and say his names several times to get him to respond to her," Kyle's dad said.

They rushed to his side in Spain.

"We weren't sure he would survive the flight back -- getting on a commercial flight for 8-10 hours with no medical personnel -- he would have been with his wife and the kids," Kyle's mom said.

His parents arrived just hours before Kyle was wheeled into surgery.

"I was just so happy to spend more time with them -- just in case something happened -- to be able to hold them again before heading into surgery meant a lot to me," Kyle said.

"The tumor was near the front of the head between two halves of the brain, so they made the incision and reflected the skin forward and removed some of the skull...and separated tumor from brain tissue," Kyle's dad said.

Surgery went well, but two days later, Kuric's condition worsened with the pressure in his brain rising and his heart rate slowing dangerously.

"We just looked at each other and said this just can't be happening, this just can't be happening," Kyle's mom said.

Doctors operated again, removing a large section of his skull to allow the brain to swell safely.

"It was about two hours before he came back and we spent those two hours just crying, praying and texting family please asking for their prayers," his mom said.

Kyle's parents say he could have died that day.

"Much closer than we would have wanted to be," his dad said. "It was a desperate measure to do additional surgery, but something had to be done."

After surgery, more excruciating waiting while Kuric lay in a medically induced coma.

"There was a point we didn't know if he would survive, then it was what's he going to be like? Is he going to have brain damage?" Kyle's mom explained.

They got their answer within days.

"[We] walked in and he was sitting up in bed," his mom said.

"I think it borders on [a miracle], as close as I've ever been to one," Kyle's dad told WDRB.

Not long after waking up, Kuric had one question for his doctors.

"He was trying to figure out as soon as possible when he could return to play basketball," Kyle's dad said. "You're just barely walking, you've got a ways to go."

There was a third surgery to replace the missing piece of his skull with a plastic insert.

"It's a first," Kyle said. "No basketball player has ever had this done."

There will be lots of firsts as Kuric eases back into daily life.

"First time to see boys after surgery was after he was moved out of ICU," Kyle's mom said. "It was a special moment, it meant a lot to him."

Five weeks to the day after his first surgery, he walked onto the court to greet his teammates.

"At this point, I'm starting to walk in the pool. A week to 10 days -- maybe I'll start some cycling, an elliptical, anything low impact.

When asked about the basketball court, Kuric said, "Probably mid to late February if everything goes well -- we'll see!"

The hundreds of cards, messages, tweets and texts lifted the family up through the scariest time of their lives.

"I just want to say thank you. I couldn't have imagined I would get that much support from everybody," Kyle said.

"We've said it several times, thank you just seems so inadequate," Kyle's mom explained. "How blessed and how loved we felt and we needed all those prayers, they were so critical and we're so grateful."

"It just makes me appreciate everything more -- realizing how quickly it can change," Kyle said.

From his hospital bed, Kyle was working on his Kyle’s Korner for Kids annual toy drive, which delivers toys to children at Kosair Children’s Hospital on Christmas Day. You can find more information on that here.