LaVar Ball opened up about having his right leg amputated, revealing in an essay published Tuesday in SLAM that diabetes complications led doctors to remove part of his limb.

The final amputation count, LaVar said, was four. He also had to go through four separate blood transfusions as part of the proc

Despite the perilous development, Ball appeared to be maintain his swaggering demeanor in his first public appearance since the procedure. He was a bit more humble and reflective in his column, admitting that the ordeal of surgeries and transfusions left him feeling like he wanted to "shut it down," in his words.