There's no gentle way to put this, so I'll just say it: I think everyone who watched this unfold believed that they had just seen a player die. Muamba had had a heart attack, was the (correct, as it turned out) assumption. On Twitter, in forums, and I imagine in a thousand conversations, there was optimism, but it was mostly of the hoping-against-hope variety. Something to cling to when you know that no one's supposed to die on a sports field.

"What we've learned since is somehow even more amazing. A cardiologist and Tottenham fan, Andrew Deaner of the London Chest Hospital (the doctor in the video up top), leaped from the stands and assisted with CPR. Medical personnel, including both team's doctors, shocked Muamba's heart twice on the field and at least a dozen more times in the ambulance, which because of Deaner, took Muamba straight to the best cardiac hospital in London."
- dave 3-24-2012 2:37 am

Is there a cardiothoracic surgeon in the stadium?
- jim 3-24-2012 2:42 am

i had actually envisioned this scenario and wondered had there been "a doctor in the house" would they have let him on the field. i went as far as "feeling" the frustration a doctor might have felt had he been turned away. yes, this is what i do with my time. now you know. that and watch hour long panel discussions about sitcoms with attractive brunettes.

also, if you are wondering how fortunate he was to be playing in london, wonder no more.
- dave 3-24-2012 3:38 am