Charger physician, Dr. Lee Rice, referred Bell to arthritis-specialist Dr. Michael Weisman at the University of San Diego.“The chances for survival are less than 30%,” he said.
He also covered skiing at the Winter Olympics and wrote extensively on most sports. He would have appreciated his rare gifts of grace and strength and durability. The thing people never saw was his leadership.
He dined with Melvin Jackson, a former USC lineman who was Bell’s best friend, and they discussed Ricky’s idea of making educational sports videos for high school athletes.Natalia Bell is studying for her master’s degree in history at Cal State Los Angeles. When he wasn’t there, she knew why.
Then again, he thought, other backs didn’t have to run behind Tampa Bay’s line.
“He kept everything contained.
"We weren't doing the complete Ricky Bell story," said screenwriter Jeff Andrus, who spent a month last year researching the former USC football hero's life and tragic early death.
No one knew that near the end he couldn’t even help his wife carry in the groceries or get a glass of water by himself.
Ricky Bell got a bad break.Natalia Bell said she called the station to say there was some sort of misunderstanding, that what Ricky actually meant was that he didn’t want the interview to run until he was healthy again.Ricky Bell was the first player taken in the 1977 NFL draft. He thought his disease was something that would pass.Bell was traded to the San Diego Chargers in March of 1982.
He would have respected his humility in victory and defeat.The disease that Bell had, cardiomyopathy, affects about five in every million people. He’d just leave town. “We were in mourning and then had to hear such fabrication.
He’d go to Seattle or Tampa. It didn’t seem right that this disease could make him a mere mortal.Most campsite reservations through Aug. 15 have now been canceled.“He tried everything,” Dr. Rice said.
The whole point is that if my husband did have a fatalistic attitude, I would just have to say, ‘OK, he said it.’ But everyone around Ricky knew he was positive. The weight loss comes from the body trying to fight off the disease.”Natalia awoke at 6:30 a.m. to get Noelle off to school and then was off to school herself.When she arrived at the hospital at 11:25 a.m., she expected to find her husband in one of the intensive care rooms.
The night before he died, he was planning, not dwelling on the past. Just fine,’ ” said his wife, Natalia. And you can still argue what might have happened had the picks been reversed. “But that wasn’t unusual.
His lungs couldn’t absorb enough oxygen and were sending unhealthy blood back to the heart. Bell, the tireless USC tailback, once carried the ball 51 times in a single game.“I thought he had it (the disease) licked,” Jeter said. In that 1979 season, the Bucs won the NFC Central Division and earned their first playoff win when they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles.
The blood vessels within the skin become severely inflamed to the point where you’re unable to use your muscles. “When his lungs became bad, it took weeks, almost months to get him into the hospital. When play resumed in 1982, the Chargers put him on the injured-reserve list. He didn’t mind running through people on his way to the goal line. The struggle of his body’s fight against the disease caused massive weight loss and fatigue. In early 1983, he drove by himself across the country.
Bell didn’t want others to know.Natalia said she asked that the interview not be shown again on the 11 p.m. telecast, but that request was denied.There was a time, not too long ago, when it seemed that nothing or no one could stop Ricky Bell.He had his biggest season in 1979, when he gained 1,262 yards in leading Tampa Bay to the NFC Central Division title.
Bell is also survived by a daughter, Nyla. It’s a form of dermatomyositis, an inflammation of the skin and muscles. Tampa Bay chose Bell over Dorsett, who went to the Cowboys.
Bell, in fact, had gained 15 pounds in the last few weeks of his life.“People would call the house and ask how Ricky was doing and he’d say, ‘I’m great. “For a guy like Ricky, that was almost like giving up.”“I even looked at the number, but then I went out Christmas shopping,” Jeter said. That was the word Bell was putting out.In the last few months, he had put on about 15 pounds and weighed 180. “It’s the kind of exclusive you don’t want to brag about.
It’s a good 40-minute drive from Cal State L.A. “I didn’t know what to do so I got down on my knees on the field and said a little prayer. You could see that there was something wrong with him but he was always positive.”Bell tried acupuncture. Simpson or as quick as Charles White, but he didn’t have to be.