Speaking with Ben Fowlkes for Sports Illustrated recently, Lawal admitted exactly how far the infection and subsequent treatment had dragged him down.
"I got to the point where I was like, [expletive] it," Lawal told Fowlkes. "I just felt like, hey, I'm going to quit taking this medicine, and if I die then I die. I'm tired of this stuff."
Lawal underwent a total of fourteen surgeries, almost had to have his leg amputated and was put on a constant stream of potent antibiotics fed through a PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) line into his heart. Though he's still sapped of strength, having lost some thirty pounds throughout the ordeal, Lawal can see the far-off light breaking through the trees.
He's not out of the woods yet and he has a long way to go before he's back to normal (and there's still the chance that Lawal's "normal" has forever changed), but the 31-year-old has been to the brink and come back -- so, everything else from here on out should be easier.
"I feel like I looked death in the face, and I survived," Lawal said. "I'm talking death of my career, and death in life. I faced that. It was tough. It really did make me appreciate my life, just my everyday life. I used to think, not that I hated working out, but that I hated feeling tired. Now, I miss feeling tired. I miss getting punched, kicked, kneed, elbowed. I miss all that."
