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Cowher 'cautiously optimistic' on Maddox
Tough hit
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review
Stabilized
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review
Maddox down
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review
Jerry DiPaola is the Tribune-Review high school sports editor. He can be reached via e-mail.
Maddox, 31, who spent the night in the hospital's trauma unit, is scheduled to return to Pittsburgh today.
A spinal cord contusion — or bruise — causes bleeding in the spinal column and a cavity or hole to form in the center of the spinal column. The bleeding can place pressure on the spinal cord and kill neurons, according to information provided by the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center near Harrisburg.
The contusion can cause permanent or temporary paralysis. Patients regain most skills within a few hours or days, but pain and health problems can linger.
Maddox was hit by Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck near his head and neck while completing a pass and falling to the ground on the last play of the third quarter. Medical personnel from both teams worked on Maddox for about 20 minutes, with Steelers assistant trainer Ryan Grove holding his head nearly the entire time. Maddox told doctors on the field that he couldn't feel his arm as it lay motionless on his chest. He also suffered a concussion.
Steelers coach Bill Cowher said Maddox never lost consciousness and continued to breathe, but he had had little communication with him. "We are cautiously optimistic," Cowher said.
Bulluck said he walked over to Maddox while he was strapped to a stretcher and being lifted into an ambulance on the field. "When I walked over to him to wish him well, he moved and gave a motion like he was going to be all right," Bulluck said. "I just told him I was going to pray for him to get better."
Many of Maddox's teammates were unsure of his condition until Cowher told them after the game that he had regained feeling in his extremities.
"I'm scared for Tommy," Steelers tight end Mark Bruener said. "You hear things like that, but I've never actually seen something like that. It's a scary feeling when one of your teammates and, most importantly, one of your friends is seriously hurt. That's what I'm scared of right now. He's showing signs of improvement. I hope it continues."
Bruener said there was no conversation among members of the team while doctors tended to Maddox. "I was praying," he said. "Ever since I saw it, I've been praying."
Steelers physician Dr. Anthony Yates rode in the ambulance with Maddox to the hospital, and he later was joined by team orthopedic physician Dr. James Bradley.
Steelers President Dan Rooney's son, John, and Steelers public relations assistant Dave Lockett also remained in Nashville last night after the team returned to Pittsburgh.
The team made arrangements for Maddox's mother and father, who attended the game, to remain in town overnight. Bradley spoke with Maddox's wife, Jennifer, who was not at the game, from the field as doctors were tending to him.
On Aug. 5, Houston Texans safety Leomont Evans suffered a spinal contusion when he was tackled during the team's preseason opener. He regained full use of his arms and legs within a few days. But the team placed him on injured reserve later in the month and he has not played since.
Former University of Washington safety Curtis Williams died from a spinal contusion on May 7, almost two years after being paralyzed by a tackle during a game at Stanford. Williams, 24, was confined to a wheelchair and paralyzed from the neck down after the hit.
