Share This Episode
Amy Lawrence Show Amy Lawrence Logo

1-3-23 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 1

Amy Lawrence Show / Amy Lawrence
The Truth Network Radio
January 3, 2023 6:02 am

1-3-23 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 1

Amy Lawrence Show / Amy Lawrence

On-Demand Podcasts NEW!

This broadcaster has 1869 podcast archives available on-demand.

Broadcaster's Links

Keep up-to-date with this broadcaster on social media and their website.


January 3, 2023 6:02 am

Prayers for Damar Hamlin | Bengals reporter Mike Petraglia joins the show from Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati | Your phone calls.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

If you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

That's it. Often when we wake up, our brains go into planning mode, which leads to overthinking and stress before our head even leaves the pillow. Something simple like brushing your teeth can break that cycle and jumpstart your day. This tip was brought to you by BetterHelp Online Therapy, which connects you with a licensed therapist via video, phone, or online chat.

Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on your first month. If you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

That's it. Often when we wake up, our brains go into planning mode, which leads to overthinking and stress before our head even leaves the pillow. Something simple like brushing your teeth can break that cycle and jumpstart your day. This tip was brought to you by BetterHelp Online Therapy, which connects you with a licensed therapist via video, phone, or online chat.

Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on your first month. Because I am absolutely certain that many of you are awaiting an update, just like I am, that many of you have been awaiting some type of news or update from Cincinnati, I want to pass along the very latest. This is from the Buffalo Bills Twitter account not even 15 minutes ago, and I will read it verbatim.

Again, directly from the Bills. Jamar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in our game versus the Bengals. His heartbeat was restored on the field, and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment. He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition. Jamar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest, and so as we saw him fall backward on the field following a tackle that he made early in Monday night's game, that's what he was going through. This is different than head injury, obviously, and I've never been in a situation where I've seen a game that required CPR or life-restoring, life-saving measures on the field.

As I say, I've been waiting for an update. We've been scouring the internet, mostly social media, to try to get anything we could possibly get, see, hear, to try to not only understand what's happening, but also to pass it along. And so we will give you the reaction from Cincinnati coming up in mere moments. Video is still trickling out here and there, and whether it's NFL Network, whether it's other media outlets, it amazes me the places where cameras managed to set up and film. And so more and more of that footage is coming out from the bowels of the stadium in Cincinnati, where we see the coaches meeting, the officials standing together in a group. Before the NFL officially announced that the game would be postponed, some of the Bengals players left their own locker room and went to the visitors locker room to check on the Bills.

And I don't know if you've been following this side story. It's also making the rounds on social media, and it does not surprise me at all. But in the wake of Jamar Hamlin's scary injury and him being taken to the hospital and the NFL postponing this game, fans were looking for an outlet. Fans were looking for a way that they could show their support in addition to the prayers and the thoughts of so many around the country.

And we're talking about inside the football fraternity and outside the football fraternity. And what's happening is that Jamar's foundation is getting blown up by football fans and not just football fans in Buffalo or football fans in Cincinnati. And I will keep this open.

I'll keep this web page open. It's actually a GoFundMe page that he started in December of 2020. And initially, it was about raising money to give toys to children in underprivileged communities or in communities where they might not have a regular Christmas or Christmas with gifts under their tree.

Maybe they didn't even have a tree. And so his heart was to distribute toys. And his Chasing M's Foundation started a community toy drive that has been bombarded with donations over the past several hours. Again, it does not surprise me, but it's incredible nonetheless. A simple GoFundMe page that has now raised more than $3 million. And producer Jay and I have been watching the numbers climb just over the last hour.

Another $400,000. And the number of donations is now approaching 119,000. That's individual donations being made on this page. And if you go to the page, there's actually a spot where people can post their words of support. I haven't read them all.

I've read dozens of them, though. And they're coming from all over the country. Football fans and sports fans who are writing to Demar to let him know they're praying, to let him know they're supporting him from this fan base or this city. The Chasing M's Foundation.

If you go on Twitter or on Facebook, you'll see there are a bunch of people who have shared the link. It's one way that we as Americans, and I would say as a smaller cross-section, sports fans can channel our grief and channel our fear and help out and pitch in. I appreciate you being with us on this Monday night that has taken a very tragic turn, a drastic turn. Demar is in critical condition. Thankfully, his heartbeat was restored, but that is all we know. His agent had released a statement indicating that there would be no more update on his health. I did hear one news reporter on my drive into work indicate that at some point there would be a news conference at the hospital, but I don't think that's likely. It's more reaction now, but try to put yourself in the shoes of the Buffalo Bills who not only fear for their teammate's life and his health, but they're also in a situation where all they want is to hear some good news. All they want is to hear an update from the hospital that he's okay, that he's going to be okay.

And how often are we waiting for that? And we get it in the case of head injuries or neck injuries, players who've been taken to the hospital, but we find out that there's movement in their extremities or that they're talking and communicating. And there's always that relief.

It's a familiar feeling, a familiar emotion to know, okay, he's in good hands. He's got the best medical team available. In this case, the updates have been scarce, and even the latest that we've received from the Buffalo Bills directly doesn't provide a whole lot of relief. Demar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest. His heartbeat was restored on the field, and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment. And the latest is that he's in critical condition. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio. I've been sharing some of the Bills players' tweets and also have shared that statement from the Bills as well as a statement from the NFL. And I know there are a lot of people who are criticizing the NFL and their reaction. I feel like tonight, as we make our way toward Tuesday morning, that most importantly, we keep in mind compassion.

And, you know, I'm not a huge ranter. I try to take everything that happens in sports with more of an irreverent approach, not because it doesn't matter, but because generally we're not talking about life or death. And this is one of those nights where a man's life hangs in the balance and football, sports, becomes so insignificant. And the games, the outcomes, they don't matter. And sure, it would be easy to pile on the NFL.

Why didn't they cancel the game immediately? But two things. I want to be sure that we have the information, the correct information. It happens all the time that the information that is passed along to us is not accurate. So that's where our guests will help us coming up in moments here from Cincinnati. But also with the NFL, I think it's important to offer grace because of this. It's an unprecedented situation. And I don't mean a player getting injured or even medical teams or an ambulance on the field. But in all of my years covering sports, a football game, I've never heard of CPR being administered on the field. And initially, my reaction when I saw Demar fall backward was, oh, man, that's scary.

I hate it. Generally, it indicates a head injury, right? We have seen that multiple times this season, even, where a player is unsteady and he loses his balance. I think of Tua right now.

But not just Tua. There are others. And that's where the concussion protocols come in, where the independent spotters come in, because you want to protect these players after they've taken a hard hit to the head or the neck where they have lost their balance. But what stood out to me instantly as the cameras were showing the faces of Demar's teammates, it was different. This was different. And initially, they probably didn't know exactly what was going on either. But they could tell that this was different than a head injury.

This was different than him taking a hard hit. And so once we started to see the faces of the players. Some who were crying, some who were so distraught, they couldn't stand still. The look of shock on the faces of Josh Allen, Stevon Diggs, who had tears coming down his face. The red eyes of these players.

And the Bengals too, not just the Buffalo Bills, not just his teammates. They became apparent right away. This was something that they hadn't seen before either, because these are, while they're human beings. And while they are, many of them younger guys, a lot of them are conditioned that football is a violent sport. And they see these injuries more often than they would like to admit or even think about. But they all know that one hard hit can mean a season-ending injury or could mean something like this.

A stoppage of play and medical teams on the field. But you could see pretty quickly in the minutes following DeMar falling backward that this was different to them too. And that was my first indication, even watching on TV, that this is not something we've seen before.

It's not something that they had seen before. And so for the NFL, I understand that people want to criticize, hey, they should have been sent home immediately or this should have been canceled right away. But keeping in mind, from the players to the coaches to the officials who also had looks of shock on their faces, to the fans, to the media, and then on up the chain to NFL brass, this was not something they dealt with before.

And so maybe a little grace, even as we have compassion for DeMar and for his family and for his teammates, the people who love him and know him personally, a little grace can go a long way with the NFL too. Because this is what the league is conditioned to do. And again, this is what players and coaches are conditioned to do. It doesn't mean they don't care, but it's their jobs to play.

And a lot of times it means getting back on the field, getting back in the huddle after an injury. That's what the league does. That's what these teams do.

Maybe not because they want to, but because that's the job. And in this case, it did take a little longer than people wanted, but the NFL did the right thing. And maybe they covered all their bases first and maybe they had too many phone calls and it took longer than what it should have. But ultimately the league did the right thing. Ultimately the league did postpone the game. The commissioner was on the phone with both head coaches, with the NFL officials that were on site. And maybe it took them a little longer to get their statement out there and to cover all their bases, but of course they want to make sure they're in lockstep with the NFL Players Association as well. So let's give the NFL a little credit. They didn't send those players back out there to play again.

At the very least, even if that was the intent, they listened, they watched, they made the right decision. From the top down, this was the only way to move forward tonight. One of those nights when the outcome, the playoff seedings, they don't matter.

They can wait. The latest from the Buffalo Bills, one more time, just want to read you this statement. DeMar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in our game versus the Bengals. His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment. He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.

The Bills team plane is scheduled to land back in Orchard Park in western New York in the next few minutes. I can imagine that's not only a tough plane ride home, but there have to be some of them who feel like they're leaving their teammate behind. The last I knew, Stephon Diggs had gone to the hospital and essentially said, you have to let me in. Zach Taylor was also spotted at the hospital. So some of them at least did go to the hospital. Not sure if Stephon went home on the team plane or not, but I know for me it would be hard to leave.

Feeling like I was deserting him or I was leaving my teammate behind. We will continue to look for updates. And straight ahead, a longtime friend of mine who covers the Bengals and just left the stadium minutes ago, Mike Petralio will join us on After Hours and share his perspective after what turned into a long and emotional night at the stadium. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

You are listening to the After Hours podcast. Burrow in the shotgun, three-step drop, looks to his right, wide open T. Higgins underneath and running across the field up and over midfield before he's finally corralled by Damar Hamlin. First down yardage and more as the Bengals are into Bill's territory and there's another injured player down on the field for Buffalo. 558 left in this first quarter. Bengals with the ball, but a more serious situation taking place down on the field.

I've never seen this. The entire organization has formed a wall around him in a circle as they bring an ambulance out and basically so people can't see in on what's going on and how they're working on them. So that's obviously not good news and scary. The game has taken on a very somber tone as Damar Hamlin is being loaded into an ambulance. They're not moving him just yet, but we've seen players with hands on their heads, players praying, players taking a knee, players visibly upset and crying.

This is tough stuff. Official NFL statement now on the Bill's Bengals game that's been released. Tonight's Buffalo Bill's Cincinnati Bengals game has been postponed after Bill's Damar Hamlin collapsed, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced. Hamlin received immediate medical attention on the field by team and independent medical staff and local paramedics.

He was then transported to a local hospital where he is in critical condition. His thoughts are with Damar and the Buffalo Bills. We will provide more information as it becomes available. The NFL has been in constant communication with the NFL Players Association, which is in agreement with postponing the game. From the Bills radio network a few hours ago, it was very surreal to hear both Westwood One and the Bills radio network sign off. Not long after 10 o'clock Eastern time, 10 o'clock Cincinnati time with no real information. And as I say, just as much as we were all waiting for an update, you can imagine what Damar's teammates were doing and how they were feeling and the Bengals as well. And we just received an update from the Bills Twitter account about a half hour ago that Damar Hamlin is in critical condition. Still at the UC Medical Center in Cincinnati, he sedated.

He did suffer cardiac arrest, but his heartbeat was restored on the field. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. My sincere thank you to a longtime friend, Mike Petralia, who has the Jungle Roar podcast and joins us now from Cincinnati after having left the stadium. What was the last thing that you heard as you were leaving, Mike?

What was the last update that you got? Well, Amy, the last thing we understood as we all left the stadium tonight is that Damar is in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. It's an outstanding facility, but Damar Hamlin was taken there with family in an ambulance. It took a couple of minutes actually to locate his family inside the stadium. That's what caused a little bit of a delay in leaving the stadium, but he was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he is listed officially in critical condition, and that's all we know at this point.

That happened a little after 9 o'clock Eastern time. I guess by the time they got his family in the ambulance, as you point out, there was a little bit of a delay. What happened at the stadium, as best you can tell, in the wake of the ambulance departing and the two teams heading back to their locker rooms? That was the subject of a conference call I was on with Troy Vinson of the National Football League at around midnight, and he said really the thing to understand is that there was never any consideration of resuming the game once they determined the severity of the situation regarding Damar Hamlin. They were not prepared, and the Bulls certainly were not prepared to resume that game, and the Bengals were almost as distraught and disturbed by what they just saw on the field right before 9 p.m.

There was never any consideration of resuming the game. The league was in very close contact with Sean Smith, the referee in the game, and it was Smith who individually and collectively spoke with Sean McDermott, head coach of the Bills, and Zach Taylor, head coach of the Bengals, and they made a decision to take the teams back to their respective locker rooms, talk to them, update them on the situation the best they could, and it was pretty evident pretty quickly, Amy, that this game was not going to resume. The timeline was at 9.16 after the ambulance had departed the field to suspend the game temporarily. I found that a little bit odd, but I think they were just trying to determine what the situation was with Damar Hamlin leaving the stadium and going to the hospital, but once it was determined that Hamlin was in critical condition as he arrived at the hospital, at 10.01 p.m. the announcement came from the NFL to officially postpone the game. I know there was no media availability for either team, the Bills or the Bengals, and I understand the Bills are on their way back to Buffalo, but there were players moving around. We saw some video of family, also the officials who were underneath the stadium as well. I'm not sure where you were, Mike, but what did you see in the wake of the players heading back to the locker rooms? So we, as a media contingent covering the Bengals, were hanging out right outside the Bengals' locker room, and we were attempting to go down to the media interview room, not the media work room, but the media interview room in anticipation of some type of announcement from someone as to what was going on. That never occurred, and I think the decision was a good one because I think it was such a sensitive, taught situation that Troy Vincent alluded to several times in his conference call. Emotions were high that once it was determined that there was going to be no media availability, all we could do is sit back and watch Joe Burrow, Ted Karras, Sam Hubbard, Joe Mixon, four of the Bengals game captains that I saw make their way down to the Bills' locker room and offer sympathy and support.

What else can you do in a situation like that? And that's what the Bengals were able to do, and that was my vantage point throughout the 45-minute period between 9, 15 and 10 o'clock. Mike Petralia is with us from Cincinnati, where he has just recently departed the stadium.

He covers the Bengals and has the Jungle Roar podcast, and we're longtime colleagues going back to our days in New England. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. In the stadium, when he was out there on the field and the players had surrounded him, your perspective, where you were and what it sounded like inside the stadium as people were waiting, really kind of holding their breath? Well, it's interesting you say that, Amy, because there was silence, as there usually is in a serious injury situation in the NFL. That is sadly not unusual because it's a violent sport, but usually you see the thumbs up where you see some type of indication that he's going to be okay and players get back to their respective sidelines after collecting them themselves. Their thoughts are with their injured teammate in the locker room.

That wasn't the case. Once he was on the field receiving CPR and it was evident to a lot of the players what was going on, that this was a life-saving measure being taken by first responders and emergency personnel on the field, it had a whole different tone. Then when he was loaded into the ambulance, there was the cheer of support from the fans in the stadium, and that is obviously something you hear all the time in different stadiums around different sports.

When that happens, you cheer for the athlete who is needing critical medical attention. But once that happened, it was obvious that Sean Smith, the referee, and Sean McDermott of the Bills and Zach Taylor, when they got together, the game was not going to resume. And then there was a stunned silence.

You could hear a pin drop in the Pecor Stadium tonight, Amy. It was unlike any environment I have ever been in because I think I'd say 80 to 85% of the people sensed what was going on. A couple of things that stand out to me, and you mentioned football is such a violent sport, but the electricity in the stadium, and you were there, the excitement, the adrenaline, all of the anticipation for this game, and it comes to a grinding halt.

So as you point out, it was from one extreme to the other. So that's one thing that really struck me. And I think even as we've covered football a long time, as you say, we see serious injuries and we see games stop. We see teams rally around an injured player and the medical staff out there on the field. We even see ambulances periodically on a field. But what I think really indicated to me that this was something extreme, the facial expressions and the looks on the faces of not just the Bills, but also the Bengals, who very quickly realized this was different. Very much so, Amy.

And I'll tell you another thing. It really struck me when the teams went to the locker room, because I said to a couple of my colleagues sitting around me in the press box at Pecor, I said, they're not coming back out. There is no way, after seeing what they just saw, that they're going to be able to play and resume play in this game tonight. And essentially, Troy Vinson confirmed that on the conference call, that it was a very emotional, raw, a very difficult situation emotionally for players to handle and coaches to handle, because the league really had not ever seen anything like this on this scale before. And when you hear that kind of language and verbiage from a former player like Troy Vinson, I don't take those words lightly. I think the league was shuttered at what they were watching on TV, and they put into place an emergency action plan.

They administered it, I think, the best way they could. And they made the best decision that they possibly could, and that was to postpone the game and consider the life of a fellow NFL player and put that at the top of the list in terms of priority. We get very wrapped up in our sports. We get very involved and very emotionally invested in outcomes and games and even nuances. A call here, a snap there.

But it pales in comparison when you think about a young man's life hanging in the balance. So if you would like to see more of what Troy Vinson had to say and Mike's observations from being at the stadium throughout the last several hours, you can find him on Twitter at Trags, T-R-A-G-S. My sincere thank you and gratitude, Mike. I know it's been a long evening for you, but thank you so much for your observations and for your insight. Amy, always a pleasure talking with you. Tough circumstances tonight, I think, for any sports fan.

Who was tuning in to watch the celebration of two great football teams, and unfortunately, real life interrupted. Thank you, Mike. Thank you so much for those insights and that perspective. You can hear it, and I've known Mike for a long time, but you can hear it in his voice that he was shaken by this evening as well. And I know as journalists, I can speak personally, when there is a tragedy, when there is a difficult story or a scary scene, like the one we saw in Cincinnati, my instinct kicks in, which is to inform people, find out as much as I can, and pass that along. And I know that's the case with Mike as well, but it also does take an emotional toll, and at some point, you're worn out because your adrenaline, it will wear off. And so for Mike to join us after a long few hours at the stadium attempting to collect as much information as possible, in a situation that you really don't ever prepare for adequately, there's certainly experience, but in terms of training, you show up to cover a football game, and instead, it becomes about a young man's life. So I appreciate Mike and the fact that he did not back out of the interview, right?

We weren't sure if he would still want to do it. We had scheduled that with him before the game ever kicked off, and so I'm glad that we were able to get his insights from Cincinnati. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. There are a lot of people who pretend to be doctors on social media, and then there are actually doctors that provide their insight, and I was seeing some of the reaction from a man who is a former NFL head team doctor for nearly 20 years, as well as an orthosurgeon, and he often provides, in fact, his Twitter handle is ProFootballDoc. He often provides insight and analysis of what he sees and what he hears from being connected inside the NFL community, and he responded to the Bill's statement about DeMar Hamlin, the fact that he suffered a cardiac arrest on the field.

That was when we saw him fall backward after the tackle he made on T. Higgins in the first quarter, and then the Bill's indicating that DeMar's heartbeat was restored on the field. You may have heard some of the reports that were happening there, either on Monday Night Football or some of the shows that took place after the fact. He initially had CPR. They tried to lift him up on the stretcher and put him into the ambulance the first time, and for some reason that was not possible. They had to lower him back down to the field so that they could continue life-saving measures. Then they were able to load him into the ambulance, and as they took the ambulance off of the playing surface and into the stadium underneath, they were looking for his family. His mom, this is according to our friend Sal Cappaccio, who is the Bill's sideline reporter, his mom came down by the wall behind the bench as DeMar was still out there on the field.

She, of course, wanted to be with her son, but there was no entrance to the field where she was, and according to Sal, stadium security, as well as Bill's staff members, did a real good job to get her to a spot where she could get onto the field as quickly as possible. And then, again, according to Sal Cappaccio, he, DeMar, had both of his parents with him as they were heading to UC Medical Center, and they were in the ambulance. So going back to Pro Football Doc, he says that there were 20-plus medical professionals from both the Bills and the Bengals, as well as independent doctors, that they always have on site at stadiums, and they were working together to make sure that DeMar's life was saved, and they did do that on the field. And he goes on to say, this is David Chow, the Pro Football Doc, goes on to say that cardiac arrest from the contusion, and then also some possible other complications, but that it's good news that his heartbeat was restored and that he was able to be transferred to the medical center and that they have him sedated in critical condition. I'm not a doctor, I can't pretend to be one, but the fact that this long-time football doctor, team doctor, is tweeting, this is great in all capital letters, early news, is encouraging to me. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. I just was checking the website, the GoFundMe page for DeMar's Chasing M's Foundation, and I will do this because it is a little bit of joy infused into what is a very serious and scary situation, as well as a tough night in the sports industry, and certainly really difficult for those Buffalo Bills teammates who have recently landed back at home.

For me, that would be extremely difficult, and I don't know whether or not Stefan Diggs and some of his teammates who went to the hospital then ended up getting on that team plane, but I just know it would be really hard for me to leave my teammate behind, for me to go home to Western New York and know that he was in a hospital, not by himself, but that he was in a hospital without all of his teammates, without his brothers. And so this Chasing M's Foundation GoFundMe page is something that is offering me a little bit of joy. It is about to hit $3.1 million in donations, and this is just in the last few hours.

More than 120,000 individual donations have been made. Do you know the original goal for his community toy drive was $2,500? That was the stated goal on DeMar Hamlin's GoFundMe page, and now it is well over $3 million, and the donations continue to pour in. And this is what DeMar wrote on the GoFundMe page.

I think it's a bit of an insight into who he is as a young man. As I embark on my journey to the NFL, I will never forget where I came from, and I am committed to using my platform to positively impact the community that raised me. I created the Chasing M's Foundation as a vehicle that will allow me to deliver that impact, and the first program is the 2020 Community Toy Drive. This campaign gives you the opportunity to contribute to our first initiative and positively impact children who have been hardest hit by the pandemic. And he goes on to say 100% of the funds raised will go toward the purchase of toys for kids in need.

He also says this, which I think is a really neat testament to his character. If you're not able to contribute monetarily, you can support in other ways. Spread the word. Share this fundraiser on your social channels. We're accepting actual toy donations. And he had an address listed for the daycare center. Oh my goodness, in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, I wonder if there is going to be an inundation of donations showing up at the daycare center as well. Thank you so much for supporting me on and off the field.

I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with you to help make the holiday season a little brighter for the kids in our community. Damar Hamlin, the Chasing M's Foundation. It's a very simple page with a simple note. There's a photo of Damar and presumably his family above him at a pit game, so he played at pit. He had other opportunities and other scholarship offers, but chose to play at pit. And he lists the name and the address of this daycare center, which they were channeling the toy drive through. And so I don't know if that daycare center will have a bunch of people and a bunch of packages and toys sitting outside come Tuesday morning. This is in Stowe Township, Pennsylvania, and the words of support are well now close to 3,000 coming from all over the country. And I think it's just really amazing that we as Americans, we as sports fans, and we as humans, we want some way to help out. And this is a way that we can actually make a tangible step and make a tangible effort to support this young man who at this point has no idea, but will. He will know not only that the two football teams could not continue and would not continue playing football in the wake of his injury, that they only cared about him and his health and his well-being.

He'll know that his family was there, and he'll know that hundreds of thousands of people not only were praying for him and concerned for him, but that they put their money where their mouths are, essentially. Let's talk to Jeff, who's in Pittsburgh. Jeff, I just have about two minutes. Go ahead.

Hi, Amy. I wanted to talk to you about something that I became aware of when I coached youth baseball here in Pittsburgh, and I'm a Pitt graduate, by the way. And it's a condition called commotio cardis. It occurs during athletic events, mostly young male athletes, when they get hit in the chest with a ball or something.

But it's very rare. The player not only has to get hit in the chest in a particular region of the heart, but also during a part of the heart rhythm, which is some transition. I'm not a doctor, but it's extremely rare. But when it does happen, the person becomes unconscious, and they go into cardiac arrest. And if they're not resuscitated, they will die. It's often fatal. So if this indeed was the cause, which seems likely because it fits every symptom, but I'm just glad he's alive.

Yes, that's certainly the best news. I did research commotio cardis. It's very rare. But it does happen in lacrosse, baseball, boxing, you know, other sports. I have seen the term on social media.

Because I'm not a doctor, because I have zero expertise or insight in that area, I only try to share what I see as opposed to making my own diagnoses. But I certainly have seen the term. Most importantly, though, is the cardiac arrest that he suffered, and then the fact that there were so many doctors and medical professionals, they're first responders, right?

How often do we see them at games and at stadiums and kind of take them for granted? And here they are actually saving a young man's life, a 24-year-old. I appreciate that, Jeff. Thank you so much for your call from Pittsburgh. Fine. Enjoy your show.

Bye-bye. Thank you, sir. Yeah, it's awesome that they were there and were able to get to him so quickly and that they were then able to transport him to the hospital with his family.

The number of times that I've been at a stadium and seen ambulances or seen medical professionals, and they're part of really every big event as a precautionary measure, but thank the Lord, they were there and they were available and they're good at what they do. It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio. and save 10% on your first month. If you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

That's it. Often when we wake up, our brains go into planning mode, which leads to overthinking and stress before our head even leaves the pillow. Something simple like brushing your teeth can break that cycle and jumpstart your day. This tip was brought to you by BetterHelp Online Therapy, which connects you with a licensed therapist via video, phone, or online chat. Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on your first month.

This is your operating system talking, not your computers or your phones, but your internal human operating system. I'm feeling a little overloaded. Here's how you can ease my stress. Close your eyes or softly gaze at something in front of you. Now inhale for four counts, exhale for six. Keep repeating. Much better. Longer term, there's BetterHelp Online Therapy. They'll match us with a licensed therapist we can connect with via video, phone, or chat. Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on our first month.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-01-03 06:09:29 / 2023-01-03 06:24:45 / 15

Get The Truth Mobile App and Listen to your Favorite Station Anytime