A special Thanksgiving
Suns’ Frye, family put major health concerns behind them this year
Suns fans worried last year if Channing Frye would ever play again due to an enlarged heart.
His wife, Lauren, worried more that he would not survive with an enlarged heart.
Suns teammates could not envision a future without Frye.
His daughter, Margaux, was born without any vision.
Last Thanksgiving, the Fryes were at their Portland home dealing with the two largest scares of their lives regarding Channing and Margaux. Frye had just been diagnosed with a dilated cardiomyopathy two months earlier and ordered to stop playing basketball, a prescription that would last a year. Baby Margaux, 7 months old at the time, had just gone through the third of an eventual five eye surgeries but still had no assurances about her longterm vision after being born blind with cataracts.
This Thanksgiving is in the Valley because Frye has a clean bill of health — and his old starting power forward job with the Suns. Margaux sees her dad in his uniform, lighting up when she takes a walk to the US Airways Center court.
“I’m going to look back and say I can’t believe what we went through in 2013,” Lauren said. “All of a sudden, we’re back to two years ago. Channing is calling with things that seem minimal, like ‘My shot’s off today.’ I’m thinking, ‘I don’t care. You’re on the court.’ ”
Scared times 2
Channing had a family history of heart complications that terrified Lauren, but Channing was more certain that he would be back, even if some of it was hopeful bravado. Last year already had been a trying year for Frye, before the 2011-12 season ended. Areinjury to his right shoulder in the final week, just as
playoff hopes faded, led to surgery nine days after the birth of Margaux, the Fryes’ now-19-month-old daughter and second child along with their 3-year-old son, Hendrix.
Nine days into Margaux’s life, Frye underwent surgery to repair his shooting shoulder and traveled back and forth between his family in Portland and weekly rehabilitation in Phoenix. That process seemed like such a dark cloud — and then a downpour was unleashed on their lives.
The Fryes had parental instincts about Margaux’s vision early but kept in denial for a more plausible reason than blindness. Less than two months into her life, doctors said Margaux had cataracts in both eyes and less than a 20 percent chance of gaining vision.
“Your world is absolutely rocked,” Channing said.
Margaux could see only ultra-bright lights, shadows and outlines. A series of five surgeries would need to be performed, one eye at a time.
The unknown was frightening but they had no idea what the depths of it could be. About three months into the daily angst of Margaux’s situation, the Fryes’ world was shaken again.
During routine preseason medical testing, Frye’s enlarged heart was discovered. His heart was pumping blood at half of the capacity of the prior year’s test. Any activity would bring the risk of sudden cardiac death. Frye was shocked and frightened all over again, and Lauren was terrified, knowing the history of heart complications in his family.
A trying year
Frye had to miss the entire 2012-13 season. Time was the only cure for his heart to regenerate. After a lifetime of medication or treatment to fix any problem, all he could do was rest to get better.
Lauren was shaken about her husband’s and daughter’s well-being, not long after she endured a slipped disk in her back.
“I didn’t have a moment to take a step back and take in the gravity of the situa-
The marvel of Frye’s comeback continued. Henot only returned to action but he lapped his own expectations repeatedly, starting with a camp at 7,000-foot altitude after 17 months of basketball and cardiovascular inactivity. He returned for his first preseason game, fittingly, in their off-season hometown of Portland, with Lauren sitting in the garage of their Valley home listening emotionally to the game on a car radio.
Channing did not even think he would be playing games by now but he has started each game and has looked like