During the Los Angeles Chargers’ Thursday night matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, QB Justin Herbert once again dialed TE Donald Parham’s number in the end zone. Parham already has 3 touchdowns in each of his season in powder blue, but this time he went down hard after slamming his back into the turf on a twisting jump to reach for the ball.
Parham gut-wrenchingly was knocked unconscious by the non-contact collision, and to the horror of football fans everywhere began shaking on the field. He was carted off and taken to the local hospital, where he spent the night.
Fortunately there did not appear to be spinal damage, which would be the fear after watching the play go down. Any time a someone has to be carted off the field for a head/neck/back injury, the football world holds its breath. No matter the cause, you hate to see players hurt like this on the field, and it is a relief to hear that he’s okay, all things considered. When reached for comment, Dr. David Chao of ProFootballDoc said:
“He suffered a significant blow to the back of his head, leading to the rigidity of his arms. Medically that is called posturing where his fists are clenched and elbows bent, stiff as he was unconscious. When he seemed to awake, His breathing was tired and labored, and thus they removed the facemask to have access to airway. He may have had a post concussive type seizure, which is not epilepsy. There are many different forms of concussions. This was a significant form, but yet it was not a spinal cord or neck issue at all. Indeed, after an evening observation he was discharged from the hospital. This scary moment was the result of an unusual manifestation of concussion and thankfully, nothing more.”
This was clearly a very severe concussion, and Parham will likely have an extended period of time out to rest and recover as the Chargers make their playoff push. As concerning as injuries like this are, we’re glad to hear Parham is headed home, and feeling better. The big man himself took to social media to let us know.
We at XNH hope he gets better soon, and all our thoughts are with him as he goes through recovery.
