The Kansas City Chiefs defensive end, BJ Thompson, woke up on Friday morning in stable condition at the University of Kansas medical center. Almost twenty-four hours had passed since he suffered a seizure during a special teams meeting and went into cardiac arrest.
The Chiefs’ vice president of sports health and performance, Rick Burkholder, clarified on Friday that kicker Harrison Butker was the one who initially observed that Thompson was experiencing a seizure.
Burkholder stated Butker alerted assistant trainers Julie Frymyer and David Glover by hurriedly leaving the meeting room and running toward the team’s training area. Thompson went into cardiac arrest and collapsed to the ground. Burkholder, his team, including Frymyer, Glover, Tiffany Morton, and Evan Craft, as well as Dr. Jean-Philippe E. Darche, a former center who played nine seasons in the NFL, collaborated to revive Thompson in a matter of minutes.
“Our (medical) team of that group of people provided CPR for him and he had one AED shock and came back,” Burkholder said of Thompson after the Chiefs’ practice Friday. “He was only in cardiac arrest for probably less than a minute.”
After being transported by EMS to the medical facility, Thompson was given a deep sedative.
“He was on a ventilator overnight, just so that he could breathe since he was so heavily sedated,” Burkholder said of Thompson. “He’s alert. He’s awake. He’s coming through quite well. We don’t have a diagnosis. In medicine, sometimes you don’t have that. He’s heading in the absolute right direction.”
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute defines cardiac arrest as the heart’s abrupt cessation of blood pumping. Blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs when this happens.
The heart stops beating abruptly and goes out of rhythm during cardiac arrest. The individual ceases breathing, loses consciousness, and has no longer got a pulse. In contrast to a heart attack, cardiac arrest is brought on by an electrical disruption that impairs the heart’s ability to pump blood throughout the body, eventually halting blood flow. The heart is not blocked in any way.
The Chiefs’ voluntary organized team activities practice was pushed back until Friday afternoon due to the medical emergency.
“Thank goodness, though, that if it had to happen, there’s no better place than right here, where you have the support unit that knows what to do,” coach Andy Reid said. “Afterwards, we had a team meeting around 9:15 a.m. I think it was good to get (the players) out of here yesterday. We’ve got support people here who can help them if they need it for what they saw. It’s not a real pleasant thing to see and watch. We’ve kept them abreast all the way through, even right through the end of practice.”
The Chiefs’ voluntary organized team activities practice was pushed back until Friday afternoon due to the medical emergency.
“I’m just glad to see that he’s doing (well),” fellow defensive end George Karlaftis said of Thompson. “You never want that for anyone. It’s hard, but we’re blessed to have such great teammates and athletic trainers that helped him and we’re able and ready for that situation. I’m hoping and praying for a speedy recovery for BJ.”
According to Burkholder, every team in the NFL is required to rehearse its emergency action plan in the training facility before games, whether they are played at home or away.
“We’re mandated to practice multiple times a year,” Burkholder said. “Ironically, we practiced on Monday with a group called Walters Incorporated, who comes in and educates us and goes through scenarios like we went through yesterday.”
Thompson, a former basketball player who was selected in the fifth round of the 2023 draft, is one of the Chiefs’ developing defensive ends. He played virtually his whole rookie season as a redshirt freshman in college. In his one appearance, which came in the Chiefs’ final regular-season game against the Chargers, he recorded two tackles in 28 defensive snaps.
Thompson, who will turn 27 in 2024, is looking to establish himself as a rotational edge rusher.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with BJ Thompson,” the Chiefs released in a statement Friday on their X account. “Chiefs Kingdom, help us wish him a speedy recovery!”
Our thoughts and prayers are with BJ Thompson. Chiefs Kingdom, help us wish him a speedy recovery! pic.twitter.com/GkXwG2zfZm
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) June 7, 2024
The Chiefs were informed that Thompson had recovered consciousness prior to Friday’s practice.
“It’s just phenomenal news that we got that he’s doing better and that he’s stable,” safety Justin Reid said. He later added on Butker’s heroic act: “Harrison is that guy and he loves all of us. We’re a family. There is much more to this than just football. You simply have to call yourself into action in a situation like that.
“Harrison did that and the trainers moved so quickly to be able to rescue BJ.”
(Photo: Ric Tapia / Getty Images)
