Open-heart surgery is a big deal for anyone, and even more for an 18-year-old. Shaquille O’Neal‘s son Shareef O’Neal faced this particular hurdle. And he dealt with more than most people realize. Despite his celebrity status, being a kid in the spotlight doesn’t make everything easy. At 24, Shareef had battled a lot, but when it came to girls, he was hesitant and refused to follow one rule. 

O’Neal’s family wasn’t initially aware of the seriousness of Shareef’s heart condition. Shareef often downplayed it as a minor issue. That was until UCLA trainer Shane came in. He was initially nonchalant but became concerned about Shareef’s safety. 

He insisted Shareef wear a heart monitor during practice. The then 18-year-old was reluctant, feeling that the monitor might hamper his image and be problematic to woo girls. 

During his appearance on the Then They Rose podcast, the G League Ignite Star shared, “I was kind of against it. It’s like I’m a freshman at school, you know. I’m looking around at the girls and I have this big heart monitor on and all that so I was kind of mad and I took it off and he (Shane) is like if you take it off I’m not clearing you to play basketball.”

Ultimately, Shareef had to prioritize his basketball career. The trainer refused to clear him until he put the heart monitor on. That changed a lot of things for good as well as bad. During practice one day, Shareef noticed that something was wrong, followed by the UCLA trainer suggesting he see a specialist.

Shareef O’Neal had a hard time accepting his medical situation 

He never imagined there could be a serious issue behind it. He had undergone several tests, and each time, he received a clean bill. However, the results were shocking; he was diagnosed with an anomalous coronary artery and was advised to undergo open-heart surgery.

He couldn’t accept what the doctor had said, especially after being told he was healthy for so long. He couldn’t initially trust the doctors, he recalled keeping his head down and crying while the Los Angeles Lakers legend was on FaceTime and his mother was by his side.

Shaunie Henderson, in her book, also recalled how her son hid under a table, closing his ears with his hands to avoid listening to and accepting the truth. 

He saw years of effort seemingly break down just before his big day. But, he accepted the truth and decided to undergo the surgery at the earliest. He underwent the surgery in December, just a month before his 19th birthday. It was a tough battle for the 18-year-old, but this one rule from his trainer, even if against his will, worked in his favor after all.