Turiaf able to walk briefly

Ronny Turiaf is weak, but up and walking.

The former Gonzaga University men’s basketball star, who underwent open heart surgery earlier this week at the Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., has recovered enough to take a couple of brief walks within the hospital and spent 20 minutes basking in the sun in front of a window on Friday.

“He’s doing well,” said GU assistant coach Tommy Lloyd, who plans to stay with Turiaf until he is released from the hospital, “but it’s been tough on him.

“The first day, he just seemed happy to open his eyes. On Day 2, he was happy to see his mom. And then the next day it was, like, ‘Man, this really hurts.’ I think the realization of how serious the surgery was has started to set in.”

Turiaf, the West Coast Conference’s player of the year last winter and a second-round NBA draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers, was diagnosed with an enlarged aortic root shortly after signing a since-voided $1 million contract with the Lakers and underwent surgery on Tuesday.

His mother, Aline Cesar, flew in from her home in Le Robert, Martinque, Tuesday evening and, according to Lloyd, has spent most the past three days at the bedside of her oldest son.

Turiaf was moved into intermediate intensive care shortly after his surgery and, barring unforeseen complications, will stay there until his is released from the hospital.

Lloyd said Turiaf plans to return to Spokane and stay with friends while he recovers from his surgery, but added he has not received official word on when the 6-foot-10 power forward will be released.

“Now is when the real road to recovery begins,” Lloyd said. “Every day, hopefully, he can feel a little bit better.

“He’s actually walked a couple of times now and really enjoyed sitting in the sun in front of the window the other day.”

Turiaf, at the insistence of hospital officials, released a statement on Thursday, saying he is “feeling fine.”

“My surgery went well,” the statement read. “By the grace of God, I’m doing well.”

Lloyd said Turiaf is still weak, however, and talks only in muffled tones.

“Unless he makes some big strides in the next two or three days, it’s going to be tough for him to do interviews once he gets back to Spokane,” Lloyd said. “I had to prod him to make the statement for the hospital the other day.”