cardiac

CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN has said that his defibrillator implant is “just part of me now” as he admitted that he only remembers it is there during airport security checks.

Eriksen, 33, collapsed on the pitch during Denmark‘s opening game against Finland at the delayed Euro 2020 tournament in 2021.

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The former Manchester United midfielder suffered a cardiac arrest and needed life-saving resuscitation on the pitch.

He was later fitted with a defibrillator implant (ICD) before returning to football with Brentford and then United in 2022.

Now Eriksen has signed for Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, having been let go by Man Utd at the end of the season, and has opened up on how he rarely thinks about his heart condition these days.

Speaking at his official presentation for Wolfsburg on Friday, the Dane discussed how setting off alarms when going through airport security body scanners is his only reminder of the incident.

He said: “I only have to go past the scanner and undergo a separate check. That’s all. There are no restrictions. Nothing.

“I have never felt anything since then. It is just a part of me now – nothing strange or sad.”

Eriksen went on to explain that he won’t delve into the details of what happened until after his career is over.

He added: “[I’m happy to] be seen as a footballer again, and not as the guy who had this moment at Parken [Stadium].

“I will only talk in detail about it after my career – it is something very personal.”

Eriksen, who was approached to join Wrexham this summer, could make his debut for Wolfsburg this weekend in a league clash with Borussia Dortmund.

He leaves Man Utd having made over 100 appearances in which he helped the club win both the FA Cup and the League Cup.

And despite the turbulent few years at Old Trafford, Eriksen had nothing but positive things to say about his time in Manchester.

He said: “Personally, I had a great time being at United. When I came back to football with Brentford, getting the chance to play against United was a massive thing.

“I also think I proved myself as a footballer at United. I had a really great time, and my family loved it there, and I’m sure we still have a lot of friends from our time there.

“I had a good time at the club, but it was a strange time because there was a lot of stuff going on at United.

“The focus and the perception of the club from the outside world is a bit different sometimes to how it really is.

“There are some lovely people at the club who are really working hard and trying their best, but it does not always go your way.”

With the high school sports season resuming, it can’t be stressed enough about the importance of schools having athletic trainers to help keep athletes safe when emergencies happen.

That was never more evident than last spring during a track and field meet at Culver City High.

At the end of a 400-meters freshman race, a runner dropped to the ground on his chest near the finish line. The initial impression by most observers was just another exhausted athlete from a grueling race.

Culver City first-year athletic trainer Jonathan Rivas, fresh out of graduating from Cal State Northridge, was immediately on the scene to evaluate. That’s when things got serious.

“He didn’t have a pulse,” Rivas said.

He determined the athlete from Inglewood High was in full cardiac arrest.

He instructed one of his assistants to call 911 and the other to retrieve the AED defibrillator. He started compressions. He hooked up the unresponsive athlete to the automatic defibrillator. It advised one shock. Rivas pushed the button. It worked. The shock brought the athlete back.

Paramedics arrived within five minutes to take over and transport him to the hospital. The athlete would learn he needed a pacemaker. The quick action by the athletic trainer helped save him.

Athletic trainer Jonathan Rivas of Culver City.

(George Laase)

“This was my first cardiac arrest,” the 28-year-old Rivas said. “I was super stressful. Honestly, I went on auto pilot. My main goal was to get this kid help as fast as possible.”

The majority of high schools don’t have athletic trainers. In the City Section, there’s only 12 out of 71 that have 11-man football teams.

Adam Cady, an athletic trainer for Kaiser Permanente, has started a nonprofit trying to help athletes gain access to trainers.

“It’s super important,” Rivas said of schools having an athletic trainer.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Dave Edmunds suffered a “major cardiac arrest” and faces a “very long journey” to recovery, according to his wife, who detailed the Welsh musician’s health struggles in a Facebook post.

Best known perhaps for his 1970 hit “I Hear You Knocking,” Edmunds — who also formed the band Rockpile with Nick Lowe — “died in my arms while I desperately tried to keep him alive,” Cici Edmunds wrote in the July 29 post, before doctors revived him “by a miracle.” Dave Edmunds, 81, “very clearly has brain damage and severe memory loss” after the ordeal, Cici Edmunds wrote, and he faces the high risk of another cardiac arrest.

“And if that occurs there is no chance for Dave,” Cici Edmunds added.

Dave Edmunds topped the U.K. pop singles chart for six weeks in 1970 with his rendition of “I Hear You Knocking,” which the R&B singer Smiley Lewis originally popularized in the mid-1950s. Among Edmunds’ other solo hits are “Girls Talk” (written by Elvis Costello), “Born to Be with You” and a cover of the Ronettes’ “Baby, I Love You.” He formed Rockpile in 1976 and later produced records by the Stray Cats and the Fabulous Thunderbirds, among other acts. He also toured as a member of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band.

In her Facebook post, Cici Edmunds thanked her husband’s fans “for your support and well wishes” and said they have made “this tremendously difficult journey a little easier.”