NFL lineman BJ Thompson alert and responsive a day after seizure, cardiac arrest
25-year-old Kansas City player 'headed in right direction,' team's trainer says
Kansas City defensive lineman B.J. Thompson remained hospitalized but was awake and responsive on Friday, one day after the second-year pro experienced a seizure during a team meeting and went into cardiac arrest at the team's practice facility.
Kansas City trainer Rick Burkholder said the 25-year-old Thompson was placed on a ventilator and heavily sedated Thursday night at the University of Kansas Health System. He was brought out of sedation on Friday and his prognosis is good.
"He's alert. He's a wake. He's coming through quite well," Burkholder said. "We don't have a diagnosis and in medicine sometimes you don't have that. But he's awake and alert and he's headed in the right direction."
Thompson, a fifth-round draft pick out of Stephen F. Austin last year, was in the meeting room before the team was scheduled to have their final voluntary workout of the offseason. He began to have a seizure and kicker Harrison Butker immediately ran to the trainer's room and summoned assistant trainers Julie Frymyer and David Glover.
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chiefs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Chiefs</a> head trainer Rick Burkholder told reporters that Harrison Butker ran to the training room to get trainers after BJ Thompson suffered a seizure and went into cardiac arrest on Thursday. <br><br>Thompson was brought out of sedation this morning. He is alert, awake, and recovering… <a href="https://t.co/cZ2wSbONHi">pic.twitter.com/cZ2wSbONHi</a>
—@MySportsUpdateThey were joined by Burkholder in helping Thompson as he went into cardiac arrest. Dr. Jean-Philippe Darche soon arrived from the Kansas Health Sports Medicine and Performance Centre, which adjoins the practice facility.
"Our team of that group of people provided CPR for him," Burkholder said. "He had one AED shock and came back. He was in cardiac arrest for less than a minute, a minute and a half. Our players, security staff, coaching staff — they were phenomenal in handling the crisis. We then turned him over to the Kansas City [Missouri] Fire Department."
The NFL mandates that teams practice emergency action plans for a variety of situations, including cardiac crises like the one that Thompson experienced. Kansas City had just completed its most recent practice session on Monday.
Kansas City gave players the rest of Thursday off, pushing the final organized team activity to Friday. They have their mandatory three-day minicamp next week before breaking until training camp in late July in St. Joseph, Missouri.
"I think it was good to get them out of here yesterday," Reid said, "and we've got support people here that can help them if they needed it for what they saw. That's not a real pleasant thing to see. They came back today with good energy, but we kept them abreast all the way through, right to the end of practice there."
Thompson played in only one game during his rookie season, the regular-season finale against the Chargers, when Kansas City already had clinched its playoff spot and the outcome was meaningless. Thompson had two tackles in that game.
"I'm just glad to see he's doing good," said Kansas City defensive end George Karlaftis, who is close to Thompson from playing at the same position. "You never want that for anyone and it's hard, but I will say this, we're blessed to have such great teammates and trainers to help him, and were able and ready for that situation."
