I had to reblog this. Great piece about never giving up. Must read (not only for soccer fans)!

Fabrice Muamba ‘in effect’ dead for 78 minutes; Thierry Henry flies 5,000 miles to visit him

-by Brooks Peck (Yahoo!Sports: Dirty Tackle)

If there was somehow any doubt as to just how impressive the efforts to save Bolton's 23-year-old defender Fabrice Muamba after he collapsed on the pitch from a cardiac arrest during Saturday's FA Cup quarterfinal against Tottenham, the latest details to emerge should clear it up.

Muamba's heart stopped beating on its own for a total of 78 minutes on Saturday, according to Bolton team doctor Jonathan Tobin. During the 48 minutes between the time of his collapse on the pitch and when he arrived at the hospital (he was taken to the London Chest Hospital, a specialist facility), medics did CPR to breathe for him and circulate, and continued to do so for another 30 minutes after arriving at the hospital. During that time, he was given 15 shocks from a defibrillator -- two on the pitch, one in the tunnel and 12 in the ambulance -- before his heart started beating on its own again.

From the AP:

"They were working on him without his heart having a muscular beat," Tobin said. "In effect, he was dead in that time … throughout the whole resuscitation period you are worrying.

"You know the longer the resuscitation goes on the less chance there is of survival, but this is slightly different. This is a very fit 23-year-old."

Fitness and age considered, the fact that he is still alive is also a credit to the hard work of those stadium medics, ambulance workers and hospital staff. One of the first responders wasn't even on duty that day, though. Dr. Andrew Deaner, a cardiologist, was attending the match as a Tottenham fan andpersuaded a steward to let him onto the pitch before running to aid Muamba. He then traveled with Muamba in the ambulance to the hospital where he works.

Muamba came out of sedation in intensive care on Monday and the first question he reportedly asked his father was "did we lose?" With Dr. Deaner, Muamba displayed his modesty.

"Two hours after (regaining consciousness) I whispered in his ear, 'What's your name?' and he, 'Fabrice Muamba.' I said, 'I hear you're a really good footballer' and he said, 'I try.' I had a tear in my eye."

On Wednesday, Muamba was visited by New York Red Bulls striker Thierry Henry. The two played together at Arsenal and have remained friends, so Henry traveled almost 5,000 miles from a match in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Sunday night to London to visit Muamba for about an hour before returning to New York for this Sunday's match against Colorado.

It's still unclear just what caused the cardiac arrest, and though Muamba seems to be recovering nicely, it's impossible to say whether he will ever be able to resume his career. But as The Score's Richard Whittall says, what truly matters is that he's alive right now and seems to be in good spirits.

Adding Another Trophy to Our Case

Soccer has been a way of life in my household. I have so many stories about championships, game-winning goals, great comeback wins. All are so vivid in my mind and make me feel good about myself and my accomplishments. Unfortunately, my soccer days have come to an end. But, my little sister is keeping the tradition alive. She has great stories, and this particular one is one of those that will just stay with us for a long time...

Two games Saturday and one game Sunday morning determined whether or not a team would play in the semi-final. Culver City (my sister's team), breezed through those three games. They won them all with ease, none of the teams posed a threat to the Culver girls. So they moved on to the semi-final, which was to be played on the the worst field possible against Chino. The field had gopher holes, dry patches of grass, and dirt everywhere. It was a physical game that ended 1-0. The Culver girls pulled it off, yet again! Unfortunately, they lost their leading scorer to an ankle sprain; she stepped into one of those damn holes on the field, and missed the rest of that game and the championship.


The semi-final ended at 3:20 p.m. The final was to be played at 4:00 p.m. It wasn't much of a rest. No rest at all when one takes into consideration that they had played 4 games in a day and a half leading up to this fifth and final game. Exhausted, sore, some in pain, the show still went on. And boy did it go on! What a game it was! 

Twelve girls on the Culver side. Eleven on the field and one on the bench as a substitute player. The game was against a Culver rival-- West Torrance. They last met in a tournament that was played during the Thanksgiving break. W. Torrance beat Culver then. They kicked ass and took names (or how does that saying go?). The game started. And for being tired, Culver was showing lots of energy. So much that they were up at half time 1-0. The second-half started, and this time Torrance came out stronger, more energetic, and with a strong willingness to score. Things fell apart for Culver quickly. The team made a mistake, letting Torrance come back into the game. The score was 1-1. Things got even worse after that. Everything was going down hill. The score was now 1-2. Torrance had all the momentum. Five minutes left in the game, and as usual the Culver coach (my dad) kept calm and played very strategically. I had faith Culver could still pull this off. Two minutes left and a corner kick in our favor. I remember saying to myself, "This is it. Here it comes!" The ball was kicked into the mass of girls in front of the goal, and somehow the girls managed. They tied the game! What a comeback! The parents went crazy (as usual). True determination and teamwork. Despite how tired they were, despite how much pain they were in, despite that they were losing and that time was running from them, they never quit. The Culver girls had done something special. The whistle blew. And what was to come next, is something that players dread the most-- penalty kicks.

At this point it was anybody's game. There wasn't too much confidence in the Culver goalie. But, she silenced all doubters. She blocked 2 and paved the way for Culver to have the opportunity to win. It came down to this last kick. A Culver girl went up to the penalty mark. Her body language read confidence. It was a good sign. Everyone was holding their breath, clenching their teeth, grabbing hold of the person next to them, and, being cold as hell, shaking like crazy. Everything was in slow motion now. She took a few steps back with her eyes fixed on the ball, and paused. The whistle blew and she kicked it. Culver won! They made the comeback, and accomplished what they had set out to do! But, most important, they gave all the Culver fans on that very cold Sunday afternoon a game to remember. 

 :-) 

Champions!

Zero Gravity!

(Getty)