A Sobering Reality

I know that PC is a gaming blog --and no, not gambling "gaming"-- so items such as sports don't officially come under the "mission statement"* of Parallel Context. Still, I have talked about sports before on the blog, and referenced sports in comparison to video games. And I've mentioned more than a few times in the past about my complicated relationship with our local NFL team, the Cincinnati Bengals. I mean, I've seen hopes dashed and freak injuries and losses --oh, the losses that would make a Manchester City fan nod in remembrance of the "Typical City" times-- so I've been acquainted with bad stuff happening.

But never in my life have I seen something like what happened last night, live on television during the Buffalo Bills / Cincinnati Bengals game:

Other players were just starting to realize
Damar Hamlin had collapsed, but Bills
#30 Dane Jackson immediately recognized
the severity of the situation and began rushing
to his teammate's side.
From ESPN via NYBreaking.com.

The collapse happened after this tackle
of Bengals' #85 Tee Higgins.
From Fox5 Atlanta, likely originally from Getty.

Damar Hamlin made a tackle which for all the world seemed like something made hundreds of times each NFL season, got up, and then promptly collapsed onto the field. 

Trainers from both teams rushed to his side, cut off his uniform and chest pads, and began administering CPR and using defibrillators. After what has been reported to be upwards of 10 minutes, Hamlin's heart was restarted. 

From the Associated Press and Jeff Dean.
Via News4Jax.com.

He'd gone into cardiac arrest on the playing field.

From the Cincinnati Enquirer.

I've never seen CPR performed outside of training purposes on dummies --and yes, I was trained back in middle school in the ancient times but I never kept my certification up-- but I'm told by friends who were paramedics that CPR performed by medical professionals out in the real world is much more aggressive and violent than what you're used to seeing on television. To put it bluntly, a person's ribs are frequently broken on the first couple of pushes, but you keep going because you have to get a heart rhythm started. People are frequently not able to be resuscitated via CPR, but in situations where seconds count, it's the best option we have. 

Needless to say, watching this entire thing unfold in prime time was very sobering.

From Associated Press via Arizona Sports.
Photo by Emilee Chinn.

From Getty Images via Ball State Daily.
Photo by Dylan Buell.

The game was suspended, and the NFL announced just a little while ago that the game will not be resumed this week. I'd not be surprised that the game were simply declared a draw and teams given a tie or simply have the game not count.

For me, I was never happier for a raid night than last night. It gave me a chance to not think about what I saw, or the young man currently in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

*I don't actually have a "formal" mission statement --I've not gone corporate on you-- but it's not a bad idea to have a statement of purpose around. Revisiting that statement from time to time allows a person to refocus the blog as needed.