Toronto Raptors forward DeMarre Carroll is known on the court for his “never give up” attitude. This is the guy who entered the playoffs with a serious knee injury and persevered through physical discomfort to help his team win the Conference Semi Finals.
Carroll’s winning attitude has not only helped him on the court, but off as well. At age 21, just weeks before Carroll’s NBA draft, doctors discovered alarmingly high enzyme levels. What Carroll had gone his whole life thinking was simply an allergy problem turned out to be liver disease.
Scared that he would never make it to the NBA and concerned about his health, Carroll sought out information about the disease, focusing on ways to maintain good health. A few years later, in 2014, Carroll launched the Carroll Family Foundation to provide resources to youth affected by liver disease and to allow him to share his story of overcoming the odds and inspire others affected by liver disease to believe in themselves and their futures.
Removing the Stigma of Liver Disease
As a young athlete, Carroll was shocked to learn he had liver disease, a condition that is typically associated with alcoholism, consumption of fatty foods and an unhealthy lifestyle. While it’s generally assumed liver disease is self-induced, 90 percent of the time, liver disease is something you’re born with.
Although the symptoms didn’t start until his early teens, Carroll was born with liver disease. He not only wanted to help educate people about the true causes of liver disease, but help those affected by the illness to understand how physical activity, healthy living and a positive attitude can impact how they manage the condition. The Carroll Family Foundation lives by the motto “We Believe”; to show youth that they can live a fulfilling life with liver disease.
Supporting Healthy Communities
No one knows more about the importance of healthy eating than DeMarre Carroll. Now at 30 years of age, Carroll controls his liver disease with a combination of physical activity, a healthy diet and drug therapies. Although Carroll knows the clock is ticking down to the day when he may need a life-saving transplant; he also knows living a healthy lifestyle is his weapon against the disease’s progression.
The Carroll Family Foundation partnered with Chef Pierre of Master Chef Canada, who designs a healthy menu for families who are living with someone affected by liver disease. DeMarre Carroll himself then takes the family shopping at a local grocery store and stocks their refrigerator with all the healthy food they need to sustain a healthy diet for a month.
The Carroll Family Foundation hosts a number of awareness events including summer outdoor yoga to educate individuals about the importance of a healthy mind and body, and hosts the DeMarre Carroll Next Level Basketball Camps. The week-long camps, which are held in Canada and the US, not only teach kids basketball skills, but various aspects of the importance of active and healthy living.
How Entripy Helps
Entripy is a proud supporter of the Carroll Family Foundation, fulfilling the foundation’s need for custom apparel. Entripy provided the custom jerseys worn by DeMarre’s Next Level campers and donated custom printed t-shirts for the Carroll Family Foundation’s yoga event.
On July 21st, Entripy attended An Evening to Believe with DeMarre Carroll, a meet-and-greet in downtown Toronto to learn about Carroll’s experience with liver disease and learn about the great work the Carroll Family Foundation is doing. Entripy provided custom promotional gift bags at the event and presented Carroll with a special custom t-shirt reading “The Liver is the Body’s Battery”.
