r.3
MIAMI (AP) — Derrick Thomas’ legs
weren’t red or swollen, and his body temperature
was normal.
There were no visible signs of a blood clot,
doctors said Wednesday. But when Thomas was
being moved from his hospital bed to a wheelchair
on his way to therapy Tuesday morning, some
thing triggered a massive blood clot in his pul
monary artery, which provides blood and oxygen
from the heart to the lungs.
Thomas, 33, told his mother he wasn’t feeling
well just before his eyes rolled back, said Dr.
Frank Eismont, an orthopedic surgeon at Jackson
Memorial Hospital. -t
The Chiefs star, who held the NFL record of
seven sacks in a game, went into cardio-respirato
ry arrest. Thomas, paralyzed from the chest down
in a car crash two weeks earlier, died minutes later.
The cause of death, confirmed Wednesday by
an autopsy, is common for paralysis victims.
“A certain percentage of people with paralysis
suffer from blood clots,” said Dr. Barth Green, a
neurosurgeon at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
“Sometimes you can see them, and sometimes
they’re hidden in the deeper veins of the body, and
that’s what happened with Derrick.”
Between 3 percent and 15 percent of spinal
cord injury patients suffer from blood clots, Green
said.
Thomas was driving a car during a snowstorm
on Jan. 23 as he and two friends headed to the
Kansas City airport to fly to St. Louis for the NFC
championship game. He lost control of the car,
and it overturned several times.
Police said Thomas was speeding and weav
ing in traffic, but no chaiges were filed.
Thomas and passenger Michael Tellis, 49,
were not wearing seat belts and were thrown from
the car. Tellis was killed, and Thomas’ spine and
neck were broken. The third person in the car was
wearing a seat belt and received minor injuries.
Thomas was brought to the hospital in Miami,
his hometown, where he had surgery to repair his
spinal column.
The nine-time Pro Bowl linebacker had been
on blood thinners since the accident, doctors said.
Therapists also used mechanical devices on
Thomas daily that intermittently contracted his
legs to help circulate blood.
“We took all the aggressive precautions that
are available to people today,” Green said. “It just
wasn’t enough.”
Added Eismont: “If I were to have it all to do
over again, I wouldn’t do anything different”
Thomas had been progressing quickly in reha
bilitation. He was allowed out of the hospital last
weekend - although a nurse and a physician
stayed with him - and he had been talking about
returning to Kansas City within the next few
months, said Dr. Jou Browne, Chiefs team physi
cian. .
A news conference had been discussed that
would have informed the public of Thomas’
upcoming move?. .<■
Thomas left behind thousands of grieving fans
and nearly as many friends and relatives trying to
cope with his sudden death. He will be remem
bered in both Kansas City, Mo., and Miami with
in the next 10 days.
Memorial services are set to begin in Kansas
City and then move to Miami, Thomas’ hometown
and the place where he will be buried.
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