CAIRO: Mohamed Abdel Wahab may have died but his story has not.Though it’s been more than two weeks since the 23-year-old left fullback for Ahli and Egypt collapsed in training and died within minutes, the Egyptian sports community – and indeed those who don’t follow sports and even those who never heard of him – is still finding it hard to come to terms with the brutal reality that Abdel Wahab is no longer with us.
On Tuesday, the footballer was remembered yet again when an amalgamation of teams banded together to play a match whose proceeds will go to the Abdel Wahab family. It was a poignant tribute. Every player wore the No 3 on his jersey, Abdel Wahab’s number. Thousands of spectators held aloft posters of the player and the No 3, and drawings of hearts.
The poster hearts told of how much this player was loved but they were also an ironic reminder that it was the heart of the international defender which failed him.
Abdel Wahab’s death brought to the fore covert heart conditions which, if left untreated, can precipitate a fatal attack even at a young age in an apparently healthy adult. It’s usually referred to as SADS (Sudden Adult Death Syndrome) a term for the unexplained death of a perfectly healthy person.
SADS has been described by some experts as the adult version of cot death in infants. They believe that many cases may be caused by heart arrhythmias – when the heartbeat races without warning. This can cause fainting or in very rare cases collapse and death even in very young adults.
It is not an easy condition to spot, especially on a routine heart health check of the type normally given during a footballer s medical. Subtle clues may be absent entirely during a single scan. However, when a doctor is looking specifically for SADS, monitoring the heart rhythm over a longer period, the telltale signs can be picked up.
But finding other Abdel Wahabs and treating them before its too late will probably not happen. Not only is Egypt a beginner in sports medicine; we have downright cheats. A study conducted by Al-Ahram newspaper in the wake of Abdel Wahab’s demise is alarming. In the 1997-1998 season, nine team doctors did not possess medical degrees and 12 physiotherapists had no degree in that field either.
In 2002-2003, six club doctors had no medical experience while 13 physiotherapists were anything but physiotherapists. Al-Ahram claimed it possessed fake doctoral certificates, including one which was originally a diploma in how to be an electrician.
If such outrages are true, there will be a lot of undiagnosed cases left out there. This means there will be more tragedies ahead, especially since heart problems in athletes are not that uncommon. As we now know only too well, it’s not just the elderly or smokers or obese people who can get a heart attack. People who seem perfectly fit do die. It can happen to anyone, even to super fit athletes.
Abdel Wahab’s death on Aug. 31 overshadowed almost all other sporting news – Ahli advancing to the semi-finals of the African Champions League; Egypt beating Burundi in the first qualifying game for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations; the World Squash Open at the Pyramids. His departure postponed a friendly between Egypt and Lebanon whose gate money was to go to the rebuilding of Lebanon following its war with Israel. Even the death of two other Egyptian footballers, from Tersana, in a car accident on their way from Alexandria to Cairo, took a back seat. While these items received their share of coverage, they were put in the shade by Abdel-Wahab’s sad end.
That Abdel Wahab’s death eclipsed all these events says a lot about the player Egypt once had.
