death on the fields
i hesitated to write this column, but i figured that of my 11 readers, maybe 3 weren't at the tournament and it was a very unique thing that happened. everything i'm writing is from my perspective and memory, and may not be the actual facts as they occurred. i had never met ana hammond.
we were at a group of four fields, with the condors being on field 3 all day. the whole team had put their stuff on the sideline between field 2 and 3. we had finished our second game of the day and were facing a long intermission before our third game. i was meandering to and from frisbee central getting some food when i saw a teammate and an ex-teammate talking on the sideline between field 1 and 2. we had been watching a little of the coed game on field 2 and then the game on field one (i can't even remember what game it was) when we started hearing sirens.
it didn't even register that the sirens would be coming to the fields until a women went running from the sideline we were on to flag down the fire engine. i thought maybe a broken bone or something along those lines. then, we hear something like "she's not breathing", i think from the woman running to get the fire engine. at that point i think maybe a concussion with some severe effects. the three of us chatting on the sideline wrap up our conversation as the action on field one had come to a stop and my teammate and i walk back towards our team sideline 40 yards away. the action on field 2 had stopped and as we walked across i looked over and saw a person giving respirations to the person on the ground. as we walked the firemen were reaching the victim, and an ambulance had also just arrived at the field and was begining to drive onto the fields.
when we got to our sideline we asked around to see if any of the condors had seen what happened (still thinking it was maybe a concussion or something). one guy said he had been paying some attention and it looked like the teams were about to begin a point when an observer pointed out to the pulling team that they had a player in convulsions on the sideline. this was when i realized it wasn't an injury sustained in the course of active play.
the paramedics were now on the scene and had relieved the good samaritan who had previously been giving respirations. soon enough they were doing chest compressions and it seemed like things were getting more desperate on the other side of the field. our team pretty much stayed put and watched the proceedings from 40 yards away. after a number of minutes of CPR, and as they seemed to be loading her on a stretcher, field staff came by and asked everyone to clear off the fields. i've never seen a group of ultimate players as cooperative as this as the whole fields were cleared within a 2 minutes. we got off the field just as they were loading up the ambulance and driving off. there were still police there talking with players who seemed to be either on her team or somehow connected to her or the events that took place.
at this point nobody really knew the severity of the situation, but i figured it was a pretty bad thing to be doing CPR on somebody for as long as they had been doing it. a captain's meeting was called and the timing for the remainder of the day was laid out. the show must go on, i guess. after the 'showcase' game that night we heard that she had passed away, and i thinke veryone was pretty much in shock that such a thing could happen. it it was an extraordinary and extraordinarily sad event to witness.
we were at a group of four fields, with the condors being on field 3 all day. the whole team had put their stuff on the sideline between field 2 and 3. we had finished our second game of the day and were facing a long intermission before our third game. i was meandering to and from frisbee central getting some food when i saw a teammate and an ex-teammate talking on the sideline between field 1 and 2. we had been watching a little of the coed game on field 2 and then the game on field one (i can't even remember what game it was) when we started hearing sirens.
it didn't even register that the sirens would be coming to the fields until a women went running from the sideline we were on to flag down the fire engine. i thought maybe a broken bone or something along those lines. then, we hear something like "she's not breathing", i think from the woman running to get the fire engine. at that point i think maybe a concussion with some severe effects. the three of us chatting on the sideline wrap up our conversation as the action on field one had come to a stop and my teammate and i walk back towards our team sideline 40 yards away. the action on field 2 had stopped and as we walked across i looked over and saw a person giving respirations to the person on the ground. as we walked the firemen were reaching the victim, and an ambulance had also just arrived at the field and was begining to drive onto the fields.
when we got to our sideline we asked around to see if any of the condors had seen what happened (still thinking it was maybe a concussion or something). one guy said he had been paying some attention and it looked like the teams were about to begin a point when an observer pointed out to the pulling team that they had a player in convulsions on the sideline. this was when i realized it wasn't an injury sustained in the course of active play.
the paramedics were now on the scene and had relieved the good samaritan who had previously been giving respirations. soon enough they were doing chest compressions and it seemed like things were getting more desperate on the other side of the field. our team pretty much stayed put and watched the proceedings from 40 yards away. after a number of minutes of CPR, and as they seemed to be loading her on a stretcher, field staff came by and asked everyone to clear off the fields. i've never seen a group of ultimate players as cooperative as this as the whole fields were cleared within a 2 minutes. we got off the field just as they were loading up the ambulance and driving off. there were still police there talking with players who seemed to be either on her team or somehow connected to her or the events that took place.
at this point nobody really knew the severity of the situation, but i figured it was a pretty bad thing to be doing CPR on somebody for as long as they had been doing it. a captain's meeting was called and the timing for the remainder of the day was laid out. the show must go on, i guess. after the 'showcase' game that night we heard that she had passed away, and i thinke veryone was pretty much in shock that such a thing could happen. it it was an extraordinary and extraordinarily sad event to witness.
posted by greg at
10:01 AM
3 Comments:
*There was a minute of silence held on Sunday at 11AM by all teams. We were asked to reflect on our relationships with the ultimate community and on the death of a fellow player. It was very touching.
*The field clearing was (purportedly) so they could land a medivac helicopter. The helicopter never came, which was an early indication of the outcome.
*I was frustrated by not knowing what was going on at the time. We were on the same fields, but farther away. We finished our game only to see an ambulance on the fields, CPR, and a defibrulator getting warmed up. Very scary situation, and any information would have been appreciated. I heard it was asthma related. I had an inhaler, and I'm sure many other people did. Would it have helped had we known? I have no idea.
By
Anonymous, at 4/14/2006 12:00 PM
This message was posted to the SFUL newsgroup.
______________________________
Dear Friends and Family,
Many people have been understandably anxious to hear some kind of
medical explanation as to what on earth could explain Saturday's tragedy.
I received word from the coroner this that although the official
cause of death is still "pending further investigation", Ana appears
to have suffered from pulmonary hypertension (high pressure localized
on the lungs.) The right ventricle of her heart had enlarged over a
period of years to compensate for the extra effort needed to pump
blood to her lungs. A probable cause of death was arrhythmia
(irregularity in the heartbeat), and essentially her heart stopped.
Although we all look to a medical explanation for understanding in
these circumstances, it's ironic how little comfort it ends up
giving. Nevertheless, in this case I think it's somehow very fitting
to know that indeed Ana's heart HAD grown beyond its physical limits.
David
By
Anonymous, at 4/14/2006 1:56 PM
Greg,
Thanks for addressing the issue. Informatively, but more important, sensitively done.
By
Anonymous, at 4/14/2006 4:33 PM
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