“Such is LIFE!
I can still vividly remember switching on my laptop on Sunday morning and seeing my Twitter/ Facebook feed being flooded about news related to Bolton footballer Fabrice Muamba. Curious? I went about my daily reading on all the footballing news sites, trawling and hoping to find out what happened.
Bad news! Muamba collapsed on the pitch due to heart failure. It came as a surprise to me and everyone else too I suppose. A footballer in the pink of his health whose fitness is constantly under the watchful eye of Bolton's advanced medical science team = Collapsed? SHOCKING!
FA Cup: Tottenham VS Bolton (17 March 2012)
Source: SkyV1deos
Source: SkyV1deos
In recent years, there have been a spate of heart failure incidents in the footballing fraternity. Suddenly a few names come to mind. Think Espanyol's captain Daniel Jarque? Think Sevilla's Antonio Puerta? The latest incident involving Muamba has once again cast the spotlight on football and its sports science regulatory framework. Critics such as Roberto Mancini have questioned whether the number of medical procedures in England are rigorous enough (*See Article). Somehow when all the incidents are put together, it seems that there is an underlying trend which I cannot much pick out why.
Then again. How can one pin blame on the medical tests? True enough, they can be improved upon but there is no one system that is full-proof. Even the best cardiologists admit that some signs of heart failure are hard to pick up and when they strike, can be sudden and deadly. So what can we do now? I surmise that the only thing to do is to shore up our medical procedures and see if there are any loopholes that need to be plugged.
Amidst the doom and gloom, there is nonetheless a silver lining or quite a few I must admit. Thankfully, Muamba is now in a stable condition and recovering well in hospital. The manner in which the world (footballing fraternity) united as one to support Muamba was also touching. The solidarity and concern showered upon Muamba by Bolton's manager Owen Coyle and club captain Kevin Davies are bright spots for football. Significantly, lessons learnt from Petr Cech's accident against Reading in 2006 (*See Article) helped to prevent another catastrophe last Sunday.
Now ringing a message closer to heart, I cannot help but relate Muamba's incident to a fellow secondary schoolmate of mine. Having met up recently with my secondary schoolmates in Melbourne, I was thrown a bombshell. I was told that our fellow batchmate (whom I met not so long ago when we had a gathering in Melbourne) has just passed away.
From what?
Well you guessed it, heart failure!
My heart was wrenched in pain for I truly appreciated the unpredictability of life. My friend, Jia Wei has always been healthy and bubbly. To see him collapse and pass away so suddenly is really hard to take for everyone, much more his family and girlfriend. Looking at his Facebook page, I was inundated by the flurry of condolences and was totally lost for words. I didn't know what to post on his FB wall where his account is now managed by his grieving girlfriend.
Such is life isn't it? So sudden. So unpredictable. When we last met, we thought we will meet again but unfortunately not. I've learnt from this episode that one should just live life to its fullest and appreciate everyone around us while we can. We never know when, how or what will happen next. We can only hope for the best!
As of now, I dedicate this post to my fellow secondary schoolmate, Jia Wei. You had a promising life upon graduation but all was not meant to be. Nonetheless, I believe you will receive the blessings wherever you are you will live in our hearts forever!
GET WELL SOON, MUAMBA
&
Then again. How can one pin blame on the medical tests? True enough, they can be improved upon but there is no one system that is full-proof. Even the best cardiologists admit that some signs of heart failure are hard to pick up and when they strike, can be sudden and deadly. So what can we do now? I surmise that the only thing to do is to shore up our medical procedures and see if there are any loopholes that need to be plugged.
Amidst the doom and gloom, there is nonetheless a silver lining or quite a few I must admit. Thankfully, Muamba is now in a stable condition and recovering well in hospital. The manner in which the world (footballing fraternity) united as one to support Muamba was also touching. The solidarity and concern showered upon Muamba by Bolton's manager Owen Coyle and club captain Kevin Davies are bright spots for football. Significantly, lessons learnt from Petr Cech's accident against Reading in 2006 (*See Article) helped to prevent another catastrophe last Sunday.
Now ringing a message closer to heart, I cannot help but relate Muamba's incident to a fellow secondary schoolmate of mine. Having met up recently with my secondary schoolmates in Melbourne, I was thrown a bombshell. I was told that our fellow batchmate (whom I met not so long ago when we had a gathering in Melbourne) has just passed away.
From what?
Well you guessed it, heart failure!
My heart was wrenched in pain for I truly appreciated the unpredictability of life. My friend, Jia Wei has always been healthy and bubbly. To see him collapse and pass away so suddenly is really hard to take for everyone, much more his family and girlfriend. Looking at his Facebook page, I was inundated by the flurry of condolences and was totally lost for words. I didn't know what to post on his FB wall where his account is now managed by his grieving girlfriend.
Such is life isn't it? So sudden. So unpredictable. When we last met, we thought we will meet again but unfortunately not. I've learnt from this episode that one should just live life to its fullest and appreciate everyone around us while we can. We never know when, how or what will happen next. We can only hope for the best!
As of now, I dedicate this post to my fellow secondary schoolmate, Jia Wei. You had a promising life upon graduation but all was not meant to be. Nonetheless, I believe you will receive the blessings wherever you are you will live in our hearts forever!
 |
| Screenshot of The New Paper article "They died at play" (29 February 2012) For full article, visit: http://www.tnp.sg/content/they-died-play |
GET WELL SOON, MUAMBA
&
REST IN PEACE, JIA WEI (1988-2012)
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