Comatose: Nothing went wrong?
By Recah TrinidadPhilippine Daily Inquirer
It’s not his duty, but here comes Manny Pacquiao warning boxers and aspirant pugs against the grave, deadly dangers of the brutal sport.
Pacquiao said boxing must be treated with utmost seriousness and care.
“Hindi biro-biro ang mag-boxing, pwede kang mamatay (It’s no joke fighting inside the ring, you could get killed),” Pacquiao told GMA News.
No, Pacquiao was not trying to brag about his bravery and toughness.
He definitely had been hit by dreadful killer punches—like the ones in the bloody bouts against Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito—but hardly talked about it.
“Kailangan handa ka sa anumang mangyari (You must be ready for exigencies),” Pacquiao advised.
***
It’s among his duties, so Dr. Nasser Cruz must also be reminded to always make sure sufficient paraphernalia, like oxygen tank, are immediately available at ringside on fight night.
Cruz is the chief of the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) boxing division.
He assumed the sensitive and powerful post upon the retirement of the able Noli Flores some half dozen years ago.
In short, it’s Cruz, previously the medical officer of the GAB boxing division, and not Pacquiao who should be advising boxers following the latest ring tragedy that felled a young, promising pro in Caloocan on Saturday.
***
There had been no word from Dr. Cruz as we went to press.
Karlo Maquinto, the victim, was taken to the FEU-NRMF Medical Center after collapsing at the end of a rugged eight-rounder at the Recom Dome.
Earlier reports said Maquinto was in deep coma, his life hanging by the thread.
But shortly after lunch yesterday, respected sports columnist Joaquin Henson said doctors told him Maquinto was (already) clinically dead.
Maquinto’s sisters, who rushed to the hospital from Iloilo, would not allow the life support to be plugged off.
***
Meanwhile, there continued a barrage of assurances that nothing had gone wrong as far as the promoters, even the GAB, were concerned.
It was being made to appear everything was in place before and at the moment of Maquinto’s collapse and instant coma.
Nothing wrong?
So why was a medical attendant hollering, crying for an oxygen tank to be rushed in? Henson asked.
He was at ringside.
Of course, there was an ambulance on standby, which eventually took the fallen fighter to the hospital.
But if there was nothing wrong, why did veteran referee Bruce McTavish refuse to work the succeeding bout unless an oxygen tank was put on standby?
***
Henson said Maquinto could not be operated on.
“His brain will just pop out, said a noted neurologist, once doctors open his skull to drain the blood because of pressure from the clot,” Henson wrote.
Nothing went wrong?
“What’s certain is that paramedics in a standby ambulance weren’t prepared to take care of Maquinto when the tragedy happened,” Henson said.
He added: “There was no provision for oxygen, neck brace or slant board.”
The famous columnist also noted that a stretcher was rolled out of the ambulance and the prostrate Maquinto was dragged clumsily from the ring onto the gurney.
***
Henson called the sickening act “like pulling away a cadaver.”
Nothing went wrong, nobody to blame?
Yes, there was nothing wrong, as far as Dr. Cruz was concerned.
Truth is that the jet-setting GAB boxing division chief, a regular in all Pacquiao fights in Las Vegas, would’ve not noticed the anomaly even if he had been at ringside before the tragedy.
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Tags: Antonio Margarito , Boxing , GAB , Karlo Maquinto , Manny Pacquiao , Miguel Cotto , Sports
