Ethiopian Review

Total Pro Sports – It is one of the scariest moments in sports, when all of a sudden an athlete collapses. No one around him. No reason to suspect foul play. No clue of what type of trouble he may be in. This moment was all to real in a Belgian League game Sunday as Roeselare soccer player Anthony Van Loo hit the ground and suffered a heart attack against Antwerp.

Following a header to clear the ball, Van Loo went down and began suffering seizures. Video shows him walking towards an out-of-bounds ball and collapsing. As he lays on his back, teammates and trainers rush to his side. That is when Van Loo’s body suddenly jolts (at about the 15 second mark).

About a year ago, he was diagnosed with a heart condition, but was allowed to resume his career after having a defibrillator implanted in him. That defibrillator is what jolted his body, and would end up being the reason he is still alive. Dr. Bostan stated afterwards, “There was a moment of panic but the device saved his life.”

Such defibrillators are installed near the heart and protect potentially threatening arrhythmia. If is becomes necessary, they are programmed to restore a normal heart rhythm through the use of electrical shocks. That shock which saved the life of Anthony Van Loo on Sunday would result in the shock of those who witnessed his revival. After such a scary moment, he was able to sit up and was taken to a hospital where he is recovering, but further details about his health remain unknown.

Van Loo was lucky to walk away from such an incident, unlike Oupa Ngulube after he received this vicious tackle to the leg. Things could have been a lot worse, and with one soccer related death already in the past week, thankfully we did not have to see another.

Sunday was no ordinary day at the office for Anthony Van Loo, but luckily his defibrillator was hard at work as well. If not, then this could have been one game that ended much too early for the 20-year-old Belgian.

totalprosports