BJ Thompson, a Kansas City Chiefs player, was released from the hospital four days after experiencing cardiac arrest during a team meeting.
BJ Thompson, a Kansas City Chiefs athlete, has been released from the hospital four days after experiencing cardiac arrest last week.
Thompson, a defensive lineman, suffered a seizure during a special teams meeting and fell into cardiac arrest last Thursday.
The 25-year-old was treated and released from the hospital on Monday night, according to his agent, Chris Turnage.
‘The family thanks everyone for their prayers and wants to especially thank the Chiefs medical and training staff for their rapid response and professionalism throught this situation,’ Turnage added.
Thompson will now continue his progress on the road to recovery. Time will tell what this means for Thompson’s career but Damar Hamlin had a cardiac arrest on the field when his Buffalo Bills team played Cincinnati Bengals. He returned to the game last season, playing eight times.
Thompson suffered a heart collapse at the Chiefs’ practice facility last Thursday, forcing the club to postpone OTA practice.
According to Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder, kicker Harrison Butker was the one who hurried out of the room to help his wounded partner.
Butker ‘immediately sprinted towards the training room’ to inform personnel of the issue.
Using CPR and a single AED shock, team medics were able to restore rhythm to the 25-year-old defensive end’s heart.
Burkholder stated that they did not know what precipitated the event, but Thompson is ‘going in the exact right direction’.
The Chiefs returned to practice on Friday after some of its players took part in a charity softball game Thursday evening.
Justin Reid and Trey Smith hosted the second annual Kansas City Charity Softball Game, which was previously organised by Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who was traded to the Buffalo Bills this offseason.
Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was the first to speak out about Thompson’s condition following his heart arrest on Thursday.
‘Let me say this before I say anything; I’m thinking about BJ right now,’ Spagnuolo said before taking questions from reporters, according to Fox4KC.
‘It was scary. I guess the boys were a little terrified, as I was. But after a lot of prayer, [head athletic trainer] Rick [Burkholder] and his crew performed an excellent job.
He also stated that he was not in the room at the time because it occurred during a special teams meeting, but appreciated the personnel that stepped in to assist.
‘But everyone you know, from man to person to woman, because we have some female trainers, they were fantastic and did an excellent job. So let’s keep our fingers crossed. I’ll let Andy handle it.
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