A man has taken to social media to urge Malaysians to always be aware of their own health condition before taking on any strenuous sporting activities lest tragedy strikes.
This comes after he witnessed firsthand a friend of his collapsing and subsequently passing away while playing badminton.
Rested longer than usual
In a Facebook post by the OP named Jerry, he wrote that he and a few friends met together for a friendly match on Tuesday (Sept 22).
Halfway through the game, one of his friends named Chong suddenly stopped and stepped outside “to sit down and get some fresh air”.
We noticed that he was resting there for quite a while — probably more than 30 minutes. Later, he came back in and said he wanted to pack up and go home to rest.
“He told some of us that he had been feeling very tired lately, stressed from work and hadn’t been getting enough rest. Our friends also encouraged him to go home and take it easy,” wrote Jerry.
Fell off from chair
Jerry wrote that after Chong picked up his bag and went out to sit down and remove his badminton shoes, he suddenly slumped to the ground.
This caused the rest to quickly rush to his side and administer CPR on him while one of them called for an ambulance.
“Several people took turns performing CPR. I stayed beside him, holding his head and fanning him while everyone did whatever we could to help.
“It felt like forever. More than 30 minutes passed before the paramedics arrived and took over. They administered oxygen, used an AED and continued trying to resuscitate him.”
Sadly, Chong died that afternoon and a post-mortem later revealed that a blocked artery was to blame for his death as it had triggered a heart attack.
‘Listen to your body’
Jerry said he was still traumitised by Chong’s sudden passing as seeing someone he knew lose consciousness and witnessing many trying to save his life was “something I don’t think I will forget”.
He also reminded others to be mindful of their health and undergo regular health checkups.
“It doesn’t matter whether you are young, old, fit, active or play badminton several times a week. Get your health checked regularly. Get enough sleep. Manage your stress. Don’t push yourself endlessly because of work.
Most importantly, listen to your body. No game, work deadline or commitment is more important than your health. Please don’t compromise when it comes to taking care of yourself.
“We only have one life. There will always be another badminton game to play.”
Our condolences to Chong’s family for their loss.
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‘Don’t Play Anymore’, M’sian Man Utters Before Collapsing During Badminton Game
