Fabrice muamba collapsed

[modey]

Doesn't look good for him, just collapsed during the spurs v bolton game, received cpr on the pitch and is still doing so in the ambulance, match has been abandoned.

Lets hope he's ok

Edited March 17, 2012 by modey

[Rufus Gwertigan]

I dont follow football and when I read the post title I honestly thought a clothing chain had gone bust :-(

[modey]

Looking like he might pull through, reports thats he's stable now, fingers crossed

[rexclark]

Very sad stuff. Hope he's ok.

[Ed209]

Apparently it took them 2 hours to get his heart properly started again. Dreadful stuff. fingers crossed he pulls through

I have a spurs supporting friend who took his 7 year old daughter to her first ever game yesterday. Horrible way to start

[The Nal]

What are the knock on effects of your heart stopping for 2 hours? Not good for his brain surely?

[Paul ™]

Posted this in the Scottish Football thread but sadly it's kind of relevant here too

News that Kilmarnock player Liam Kelly's dad, who had a suspected heart attack just after the final whistle went, where Killie beat Celtic in the League Cup has sadly passed away.

Sad weekend for football

[Ed209]

That is what I was thinking as well... No heart beat no oxygen getting around the system surely ? I will be amazed if he pulls out of this in a reasonable shape... So hoping he does though

[Rufus Gwertigan]

What are the knock on effects of your heart stopping for 2 hours? Not good for his brain surely?

[lharris92]

looks like the medical staff & ambulance crew did a great job reacting so quickly, probably wouldn't have got this far without their help.

The CPR will be circulating oxygenated blood to the brain for him. That's it's job. But for two hours!? there was probably a large shortfall in what it should be getting

[eFestivals]

Apparently it took them 2 hours to get his heart properly started again. Dreadful stuff. fingers crossed he pulls through

nearly 20 years ago my old man aged about 60 had a major heart attack - very luckily on Waterloo Station, a place crawling with doctors and nurses, meaning that he was getting CPR almost instantly.

It was several hours before his heart worked on its own, but because he'd had CPR from the start they kept on working on him - if he'd not had that they'd have given up.

He had another heart attack while in intensive care two days later. He 'died' yet again, but again they were working on him from almost the moment it happened. Despite the quick attempts at re-suss on both occasions, we were told to expect him to (properly) die.

Because of having been starved of oxygen, his liver and kidneys failed (and probably more, I forget). After about 8 weeks under aesthetic they withdrew it, only for his body to show big signs of distress still, so they put him under again long before he was near properly concious. Two weeks later they tried again.

This time he came round, but was paralysed and blind, and his brain state was unknown. We talked at him, and when joking about wine (which he loves) we saw his eyes sparkle - so from that moment knew his brain was fine (and so it turned out). Over time, his sight came back, his body regained movement, his liver started to work again, and even his kidney started to function (which was a big surprise to the docs). After 13 weeks in intensive care he moved onto a ward (the average stay in intensive care is about 12 hours), and eventually made a full recovery. (He's still going today).

His case and full recovery was so unusual that his case and the treatment he had became a part of the treatment training for heart attack victims, so his case is likely to have played a part in Muamba's treatment.

From what happened with my dad, I'd say that if Muamba gets thru today that it's likely he'll make a decent recovery. But it's perhaps going to be a long time before he's woken, and longer still before he's out of intensive care. I've got my fingers crossed for him, and I'm hopeful.

But the media are being a bit daft expecting any meaningful positive updates in the short-term, and a proper recovery is going to be even further off. While I get that all of football is routing for him I'm not sure how appropriate some of the reporting is, nor stuff like the minute's applause that was given for him yesterday - it's quite likely that at any point in time many pro footballers know people in a more hopeless medical position than Muamba is in, and the focus on just him is in many ways disrespectful to others who are seriously ill.

[eFestivals]

What are the knock on effects of your heart stopping for 2 hours? Not good for his brain surely?

From what I've just posted about my old man, it's actually not as bad as you might think - as long as there's still an oxygen supply, which there is via CPR.

When there's limited oxygen (as there is with CPR), a body shuts down the least important functions first, so they don't take oxygen that's needed for the more important parts. So, for example, it will shut liver function down, as that's not life-critical, and it's also an organ that can re-start itself at a later point without it being significantly damaged.

From the little I know, the kidney is perhaps the biggest indicator of how much damage there might have been to the brain. The kidney is about the last organ to shut itself down, as once it's shut down there's a high chance of kidney function not being restored at a later point. While dialysis isn't what anyone might want for the rest of their life, it's something that many people cope with - and based on my dad's case it might not be necessary in the longer term for Muamba even if it's needed at the moment.

The body is the most amazing system. From the little that's been reported I'd say things sound pretty hopeful for Muamba.

[pink_triangle]

I also found the minute silence a bit strange, while he is still alive and fighting, I think best wishes are enough. I can understand the reasons behind giving it in this occasion, however there is a danger of cheapening the minute silence by constantly changing the criteria you use and then ending up with one almost every week.

I have to say as a player I have never really noticed him but to have something like this happens so young is tragic. It appears the medical staff have acted brilliant as did both set of fans. I hope he makes a decent recovery.

Edited March 19, 2012 by pink_triangle

[The Nal]

Amazing story about your Dad Neil.

Lets hope Muamba's body it as resilient

[eFestivals]

Amazing story about your Dad Neil.

The part I didn't include is how mentally exhausting something like that is for the family - so I have huge sympathies for Muamba's family.

You feel that you need to be there every minute, while the nurses are telling you that you energy is better saved for when they come round or for dealing with the grief if they don't.

And I know now just how right those nurses were, because when my old man came round and was well on the way to recovery I didn't go and see him very much, after having been to see him (nearly? I forget) every day that he was in intensive care when I wasn't really much use to him. It's not really much of an excuse for my lack of visits when he was getting better, but it was a 1hr 20 minutes journey each way to the hospital. As I say, those nurses were spot on; I guess they'd seen it many times before.

Lets hope Muamba's body it as resilient

As a fit 23 year year old it should be much better than my not-particularly fit old man, so I'm hopeful but with my fingers crossed. It's impossible to know quite how things are without all the fine details, but as I've said from the little that's been reported plus the near-48 hrs that have passed since it sounds quite hopeful.

[MrZigster]

That's some epic writing Neil. Glad to see the words "full recovery" in there.

My first post on, and my reason for joining/finding this site, was to ask for advice regarding this very subject. I tried to put my tuppence worth in words last night but couldn't find them, and I also felt I was starting to burble. I got this far:

"Had a lot of conversations about this tonight.

To start with: This is not that uncommon. There must be at least a couple of stories a year that hit the headlines of young men in their late teens/early twenties just dropping like this, and they are quite often playing football. I personally know of two instances just in my tiny inconsequential town alone. Heart conditions often tend towards not being noticed until they seriously fuck people up.

If it is 'is ticker, then that's permanent damage to the heart, and the longer you're out, the bigger the damage. Though modern advice after a miocardial infarcation is to gradually start exercising and build up what's left of the heart muscle (rather than the old wisdom of, lay up & don't do anything strenuous as you may have another one), no amount of exercise will get him playing football at that level again I fear. They're working on it. Google "BHF zebra fish" or, thinking about it, "Sir Ranulph Fiennes"."

That's as far as I got.

I was going to add something along the lines of something Neil touched on. There is no right time for this sort of thing to happen but there's a right place, and that's at a place with lots of people nearby. Do the math. It also helps if you're at work and your work is the type of job that is likely to have medics on the payroll.

Also, we touched upon the subject that apparently he was "out" for at least ten minutes. That's an awful lot of CPR. Now, there are stories of people coming 'round after people have been doing the chest compression thing for a couple of hours. Which begs the questions: When do you give up? Do you get longer if you cost umpteen million pounds?

[kaosmark2]

But the media are being a bit daft expecting any meaningful positive updates in the short-term, and a proper recovery is going to be even further off. While I get that all of football is routing for him I'm not sure how appropriate some of the reporting is, nor stuff like the minute's applause that was given for him yesterday - it's quite likely that at any point in time many pro footballers know people in a more hopeless medical position than Muamba is in, and the focus on just him is in many ways disrespectful to others who are seriously ill.

[The Nal]

Word now is that hes showing 'small signs of improvement' and it's been reported that he is starting to move his arms and legs.

[rexclark]

A similar thing happened to a player of my team, Hamilton in 2006. Perhaps luckily for him, what happened to him on that day uncovered a heart defect that he never knew about. The boy never managed to come back and play at professional level but he is still playing which is quite amazing in itself.

The sickening thing about it when the incident happened was the fact oppposing players accused the young boy of faking an injury.

[Ed209]

Lots of praying going on. Never realised footballers were so religious

Rooney: "my prayers are with Fabrice and his family"

Are they really Wayne?! What prayers are these, and who are you praying to

All a little shallow. Very easy to tweet, but how many have actually spent a moment to talk to God about it?

[The Nal]

Lots of praying going on. Never realised footballers were so religious

Rooney: "my prayers are with Fabrice and his family"

Are they really Wayne?! What prayers are these, and who are you praying to

All a little shallow. Very easy to tweet, but how many have actually spent a moment to talk to God about it?

[eFestivals]

Lots of praying going on. Never realised footballers were so religious

Rooney: "my prayers are with Fabrice and his family"

Are they really Wayne?! What prayers are these, and who are you praying to

All a little shallow. Very easy to tweet, but how many have actually spent a moment to talk to God about it?

Yup. Things like this (not only football) have become almost-competitions about who can sound the most righteous about it while losing all perspective.

I don't think it shows society as any more caring or anything similarly good. It just gets to show society as mostly full of unthinking idjuts with the comprehension of a 5 year old and no grip on reality.

[kaosmark2]

The sickening thing about it when the incident happened was the fact oppposing players accused the young boy of faking an injury.

[Rufus Gwertigan]

As someone that does not follow football I find it all bewildering. I accept it is a tragic state of affairs but still.

[kaosmark2]

There's talk of postponing Bolton's match at the weekend.

Don't get me wrong, I feel sympathy for the guy and his family, but I don't get why you'd do that. I don't think there were any postponements when Marc -Vivien Foe died.

Edited March 19, 2012 by kaosmark2