Negedu picking up the pieces

By Ifeanyi Ibeh with agency reports


A few months ago, specifically on September 28, 2009, the dreams of budding Nigerian basketball player, Emmanuel Negedu, came crashing to earth after his heart suddenly stopped beating and he collapsed while running at the indoor football field of his school, the University of Tennessee (UT), following a weightlifting and workout session.

The Kaduna born player was, however, lucky as UT’s trainer, Chad Newman, and the school’s director of sports medicine, Jason McVeigh, were both present and, in an act of heroism, brought the 21-year-old back to life with Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). He later underwent surgery to have an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) implanted in his chest to monitor his heart’s rhythm and deliver energy when an irregularity occurs with strict orders not to do any strenuous activity over the next three months.

“I’d go and watch the guys practice and go to games and dress, seeing no reason why I couldn’t be out there playing,” recalled Negedu, the youngest of eight children, in an interview with American sports network, ESPN.

“I felt like my life was gone. I was alive, but I was dead. I’m telling you that was how I felt. I was dead. I was gone. I wasn’t here anymore. I was breathing, but my life was taken away.”

Astonishingly, just over seven months after his near-death experience, Negedu has returned to the basketball courts to do what he loves best but it wasn’t at UT, who didn’t want him in their basketball programme anymore or another of his preferred institution, Indiana University, but rather at the University of New Mexico (UNM), where he has been reunited with old acquaintance and coach, Steve Alford.

Negedu informed The Associated Press he has signed a scholarship offer to play with UNM’s basketball team, and will enrol in classes in June even as he waits to find out if he will receive a waiver from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), that will allow him to play in the 2010-11 college basketball season.

“I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do,” said Negedu. “I want to chase my dreams to play basketball. I want to do what makes me happy, and that’s what makes me so happy.”

But opinion is divided regarding the decision to allow the 6 feet 7 inches tall Negedu to play college basketball, as those against it warn he stands the risk of dying in action, even as those in favour say there is no evidence to suggest that such a tragic fate is inevitable.

Back from the dead

“He essentially died,” said UT’s assistant coach, Steve Forbes, in an interview with ESPN. “I was there that day. I went to the hospital and the emergency room. I slept there for two nights. I’ll never forget that. But I’m going to be worried. At the end of the day, I’m comfortable with what we did here.” So, too, was UNM regarding their decision. UNM’s athletic director, Paul Krebs, said the final call was left to the university’s cardiologist and medical team, led by Dr. Chris McGrew.

“Our doctors looked at all the records and cleared him to play,” Krebs said. “They talked to the doctors at Indiana, too. Our doctors have fully vetted this.” His coach at UNM, Alford, who personally called Dr. Larry Rink, University of Indiana’s team physician and cardiologist, regarding the matter, said: “If he had an enlarged heart, no one would have cleared Emmanuel.

“But he has no issues. The stress test Indiana put him on he cleared amazingly. The cardiologists felt there was no reason not to clear him.

“That doesn’t mean there isn’t a risk to be aware of. He has a defibrillator, so you have to be alert and the coaches should know CPR. Everybody knows the potential risks. But once he was cleared, the athletic director, myself, and the president all signed off on it. Dr. Rink told me there is no reason why he shouldn’t be able to play.”

A thorough examination revealed that there was nothing structurally wrong with Negedu’s heart, confirming what the big forward already knew.

“Everything had checked out normal, my stress test, echocardiograms,” Negedu told ESPN. “My doctor that did the surgery cleared me to play. I feel I can play. I’m fine.

“There was no evidence of damage to my heart. I went to Indiana, I talked to them, it was all good and then somebody said, ‘Sorry, it’s not going to work out.’ I was down. I didn’t want to talk to other schools. I wanted to go to Indiana. But after that, I was open to going anywhere.”

Precedence

That next step took Negedu in the direction of Will Kimble, who had an ICD inserted in him back in 2002 after he collapsed on the basketball court.

“I told him that if you’re going to do it, you have to treat yourself like you’re any other player,” said Kimble, who went on to play with an ICD in 64 games, covering two seasons (2004-06) at the University of Texas in El Paso (UTEP) without incident.

Kimble went on to reveal that UTEP trainers and doctors would put a protective cover over his chest to help absorb any blows which were commonplace for his position as a forward, which is also Negedu’s position.

“I told him that you have to be comfortable out there and you should be around people who are comfortable with you playing,” continued Kimble who then added:

“He’s probably better off than four or five guys out there [playing basketball] that don’t even know they have a problem [without an ICD].”

Under NCAA rules, Negedu is expected to wait until the 2011-12 season before he can be eligible to feature for UNM, but the school is set to meet with NCAA officials in their bid to make him eligible for the upcoming season, which is perfect for Negedu as he just wants to keep on playing basketball.

“I love to play the game, this is what I’ve been doing,” he continued. “Every morning I woke up and they said, you can’t do this, you can’t do this. You can’t run, you can’t jump for three months. I would go for another check-up and if they found something wrong with me, then okay, I won’t do this anymore.

“But they found nothing wrong, so that’s what keeps me going,” added Negedu, who then disclosed that he recently called home to inform his family he had been cleared to play at New Mexico.

There was, however, someone dear to him who was missing when he called home to share his piece of good news, as one of his older sisters had died back in January of malaria at the age of 39.

“I could feel them jumping through the phone,” he said. “I’m happy. I’m alive. I can’t wait to get back on the court.”