John Corn
11-19-02, 05:47 AM
I was worried.....this is GREAT news.
Tommy Maddox was up and walking around Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., and expected to return to Pittsburgh late this afternoon for hospitalization and further testing, Steelers medical personnel told a news conference today.
The Steelers' starting quarterback got a concussion and a spinal cord concussion -- corrected from original reports that it was a contusion -- from a combination of hitting the ground and a hit in the shoulders from Tennessee Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck on the third quarter's final play of the Steelers' 31-23 loss yesterday.
Dr. Tony Yates, the Steelers' internist, said the spinal cord concussion was more of an electrical sort of shock rather than the bleeding and swelling a contusion would indicate. Maddox showed improvement rapidly yesterday. He got a dose of steroids in an ambulance leaving the Coliseum and got feeling back in his limbs within 45 minutes of the injury.
"He's feeling much better except for a headache," Yates said, adding that Maddox's parents and brother were at the game and later at his hospital bedside. "He has told his father he's not going to give him any more strokes on the golf course."
Yates said Maddox would be admitted to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital for further neurological evaluations by Dr. Joseph Maroon, a concussion specialist and a longtime Steelers team physician. Those tests, coupled with Maroon's prognosis, would indicate how quickly Maddox could return to the Steelers' lineup and whether the injuries would affect him the remainder of his NFL career. Brain concussions have a layering effect, and multiple injuries have caused quarterbacks such as Troy Aikman, Steve Young and Chris Miller to retire.
Steelers' trainer John Norwig said Maddox was breathing but unconscious for roughly five minutes after he and Steelers' medical staff ran onto the field. Norwig added that he wanted to thank the Titans' medical staff for their help and support with the injury to the visiting team's starting quarterback.
Tommy Maddox was up and walking around Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., and expected to return to Pittsburgh late this afternoon for hospitalization and further testing, Steelers medical personnel told a news conference today.
The Steelers' starting quarterback got a concussion and a spinal cord concussion -- corrected from original reports that it was a contusion -- from a combination of hitting the ground and a hit in the shoulders from Tennessee Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck on the third quarter's final play of the Steelers' 31-23 loss yesterday.
Dr. Tony Yates, the Steelers' internist, said the spinal cord concussion was more of an electrical sort of shock rather than the bleeding and swelling a contusion would indicate. Maddox showed improvement rapidly yesterday. He got a dose of steroids in an ambulance leaving the Coliseum and got feeling back in his limbs within 45 minutes of the injury.
"He's feeling much better except for a headache," Yates said, adding that Maddox's parents and brother were at the game and later at his hospital bedside. "He has told his father he's not going to give him any more strokes on the golf course."
Yates said Maddox would be admitted to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital for further neurological evaluations by Dr. Joseph Maroon, a concussion specialist and a longtime Steelers team physician. Those tests, coupled with Maroon's prognosis, would indicate how quickly Maddox could return to the Steelers' lineup and whether the injuries would affect him the remainder of his NFL career. Brain concussions have a layering effect, and multiple injuries have caused quarterbacks such as Troy Aikman, Steve Young and Chris Miller to retire.
Steelers' trainer John Norwig said Maddox was breathing but unconscious for roughly five minutes after he and Steelers' medical staff ran onto the field. Norwig added that he wanted to thank the Titans' medical staff for their help and support with the injury to the visiting team's starting quarterback.