On November 1, Seahawks wide receiver Ricardo Lockette fell to the turf motionless after taking a huge hit from Cowboys safety Jeff Heath.
The hit left nerve damage in Lockette's neck. He underwent surgery in the following days and has been in a neck brace ever since. While he's now on the road to recovery, his story could've taken a much worse turn.
On Friday, Lockette paid a visit to a Redmond fire station in Oregon to express his gratitude to the trainers who helped him that day and drive home the importance of proper training. If one thing had gone differently that Sunday, Lockette says he would've died on the field.
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"If I would've stood up then, the weight of my head — left, right, front, back — I would've died," Lockette said. "If one of my teammates would've came over and pulled my arm, just barely, I would've died. Or if the returner at the time would have broken a couple tackles and they would've moved and fell on me, I would've died on that field."
Ricardo Lockett visited Redmond Fire Station 11 today and expressed the importance of teamwork and the great work his trainers exhibited when they saved his life on the football field in Dallas after that horrible hit during that game. He shared that the expertise and education learned by the EMS community was passed to the trainers years ago...who learned how to backboard and protect cervical spines during these traumatic events and this is why he is alive today... Ricardo Lockett is living proof that training, dedication and education are the components that make us better at our job.
Posted by Redmond Professional Firefighters and Paramedics on Friday, March 4, 2016
Thank goodness for well-trained medical staff.