MVP Sports Foundation president Al Panlilio made a request the other day: Could we keep him posted on the condition of PBA legend Samboy Lim, who is confined at the ICU of The Medical City.
Lim collapsed during an exhibition game with fellow legends at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig Friday night.
Panlilio, who is also Meralco’s governor in the PBA board, used to play ball with Lim in the annual summer intercolor league at Philamlife Homes on West Avenue, Quezon City, where Lim’s family used to live.
They were very young then, barely out of grade school, if I remember correctly. My family also used to live in the village, and my son Raymond played and grew up with Panlilio and Lim.
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Yesterday, I had hoped to report to Panlilio the result of the tests conducted on Lim to determine the extent of damage to his brain.
To get a clearer picture of Lim’s condition, I called a paramedic relative in California. He has been a licensed CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) instructor for as long as I can remember. The company he works with responds to calls to 911, the emergency hotline in the United States.
The first thing he wanted to know was if somebody applied CPR on Lim after he had collapsed.
“If the heart stops beating, it will be unable to send oxygen to the brain,” said Manuel Cudiamat, who has two decades of experience in his field.
“Without oxygen, the brain will be damaged and will eventually die. Did anybody pump Samboy’s heart en route to the hospital? Manual pumping will keep the heart sending oxygen to the brain, until professional help comes. If the brain does not get oxygen in six minutes, it will be damaged.”
In the US, Cudiamat added, people are CPR-conscious. Even in a small crowd, there will be at least one who knows how to apply CPR in case of an emergency, he said.
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The Inquirer learned yesterday that Lim went through the ice-water immersion treatment in an effort to get his vital organs functioning normally again.
One of Lim’s fellow legends said the process was done for two consecutive days. Still, Lim remained unconscious.
“He has been having chills and that’s not a good sign, according to his doctors,” the legend said.
Lim’s vital signs may be stable but his friend said the outlook is bleak, to put it bluntly.
Lim’s US-based oldest sister, Maricor, arrived the other day to join the rest of the family, including sisters Malou and Bonbon and their mother Cora, in keeping a close watch on him.
His estranged wife, lawyer and Pag-Ibig Fund CEO Lenlen Berberabe, and their 17-year-old daughter Jamie are also constantly near his bed.
The Lim family has requested friends not to discuss his condition with the media. I was told they would be issuing a statement soon, based on the prognosis of his physicians.