If I had the risk of going down on the field in convulsions from a seizure there’s no way in the world I would continue playing NFL football. That’s me, but defensive tackle Mike Patterson, who had the five-minute seizure in front of the football team on August 3rd, and Eagles fans at training camp, chooses to continue playing.
“The only thing I remember was I kind of blacked out, then I came to in the ambulance,” Patterson said. “There were (paramedics) all over me, putting the pads on me and taking IVs and stuff. I kind of figured something happened. I just didn’t know what it was at the time.”
He was all smiles yesterday at the Nova Care Complex. Patterson was back at work with the rest of his teammates and you could see it on his face. Doctors gave him the thumbs up even though he still has AVM (arteriovenous malformation), which is a tangling of arteries and blood vessels inside the brain. He had the convulsions because for some reason the blood flow those tangled arteries and blood vessels stopped for a moment.
The big tackle saw three specialists before taking the field yesterday. He will be taking medication for the ailment, plus the doctors say that every day which passes where he doesn’t have a seizure, chances increase that he won’t have one in the future. Still I wouldn’t be out there ramming my head into 350-pound offensive guards if I was Patterson.
His return adds tremendous depth to the Eagles defensive line. Patterson had been starting prior to the seizure, but it remains to be seen if he’ll wind up back in that spot when the season starts on September 11. As far as he’s concerned he plans on being the same guy we’ve seen lining up at DT for years.
“I’ve talked to a lot of doctors, and they said football will have no impact on it,” Patterson said. “If I couldn’t go 100 percent, I wouldn’t be out there.”
The former USC defensive tackle isn’t playing because he must. Patterson is in a strong financial position because he got the multi-million dollar signing bonus a few years ago from the Birds. He plays because football is what he loves to do and it’s what he knows how to do. Hopefully we won’t see any more seizures.
After the season is over, Patterson may have surgery to remedy the situation. Surgery could force him to miss part of all of the 2012 season.
“He’s weighing all of that stuff,” Eagles head trainer Rick Burkholder said. “There are side effects to anything that you do. He’s got a really good thought process, and he has done his homework.”
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A big roll of the dice by PAtterson and the by the team for counting on him..
I am not so sure the benefit of him playing outweighs the risk for him or the team.
If his long-term health requires him to have surgery to clear his condition up, why not have it now and then focus on his personal health and then worry about football in 2012 if at all.. If you are the EAgles, How hard do you push in practice and in the drills, can he play 20-25 Snaps a game effectivley while on a light practice schedule.. how about if he has another incidence or seizure, who is liable, could there be a lawsuit by him or his family down the road… Lots of things to sort out for the Team to figure out , I would place on the PUP list and see how he does over the net month to 6 weeks and if all indications he is good to go, then possibly activate but if other players are playing well then why expose the risk.. .. Who gets cut off the Roster to allow him to remain on active list .. Laws or Landri… It appears that Dixon,Jenkins,Hargrove are probably safe in making the Roster which allows 1 more DT unless the Eagles decide to carry 5 DT this years go with 5 DE’s instead of 6 DE’s…
Thankfully he is okay now, but the risk far outweighs the reward, in this case. This is not very smart on either front, Patterson’s or the Birds. Especially that he is a mediocre player. So what exactly are the Birds gaining from this, other than a chance of him going down again. This is a scarry situation.