UPDATE: The Pittsburgh Steelers do not plan to play free saftey Ryan Clark in Monday night's game against the Broncos at Denver's Invesco Field at Mile High, according to ESPN.com.
The sports Web site reported Clark will be on the field, but will only play in an emergency (if there are several injuries to secondary players). Clark has a sickle cell trait, a rare blood disorder, and lost 30 pounds after playing in Denver two years ago (See rest of the story below).
Pittsburgh Steelers starting free safety Ryan Clark has a decision -- some might say it's life or death -- whether to play in Monday night's game at Denver.
Clark has a sickle-cell trait and altitude acerbates his condition. After a game in 2007 at Invesco Field at Mile High, Clark was hospitalized overnight in Denver and his condition worsened when he returned to Pittsburgh. Clark's spleen and gall bladder eventually were removed, and he lost more than 30 pounds, missing the rest of that season. It took Clark three months to regain his strength.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports Clark still has not decided whether he will play, but the eight-
year veteran says he will make the final decision, based on advice from coaches, his doctor and his wife.
Clark's wife, Yonka, "is actually fine with it and has been fine with it," Clark said.
Clark plans to accompany the team to Denver whether he plays or not. He said if his wife had said no, the decision would have been made already.
"It would be hard for me to play if she would tell me that she didn't want me to play," Clark said. "The decision would've been done if she would've told me that two weeks ago or before the season that she didn't want me playing. We wouldn't even be having this conversation."
Clark was diagnosed then with a bruised spleen after playing in Denver while with the Washington Redskins. The severity of his condition was not known until the 2007 incident.
Clark has missed only two games since the 2007 visit to Denver and has not had a relapse. The 2007 problem caused blood vessels to burst and his spleen to become infected before it was removed in mid-November that year. His gall bladder was taken out a few weeks after that, and his weight dropped from 205 pounds to about 175.
Clark said previously, according to an Associated Press report, he wouldn't play in Denver again unless he was assured there would be no medical problems. He has been treated with extensive testing, six injections a year and careful care of any in the past two years.
Clark even joked at training camp he would play in Denver because "there's nothing left they can take out of me."
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