Earlier this month, 30-year-old Mohammed “Mo” Sylla — a French midfielder for the Scottish Premiership club Dundee — collapsed in front of his stunned teammates during half-time at a home game as he suffered anaphylactic shock.
Sylla was rushed to Ninewells Hospital where he was discharged the following day.
Manager Tony Docherty said:
Mo came into the training ground today. He wasn’t training but he came in for our team meeting. It was an anaphylactic shock. He got out of hospital on Sunday morning. It wasn’t nice to see that, particularly his teammates seeing that. But I have to say the response of his teammates has been brilliant, rallying round and showing a real togetherness.
That is the one thing that has come out of this: Mo is a really popular figure, as we know. He is better now and although he has not got the all-clear, he is back in the building in a non-training capacity. I am waiting for the medical staff to give me the return to play details. I hope he will be back quickly but the most important thing is Mo, his health and making sure he is okay.
Sylla has since resumed playing for Dundee.
The trigger for Sylla’s reaction has not been reported in the media, nor do we know if he was previously diagnosed with an allergy or whether medical personnel administered epinephrine before transferring him to the hospital.
We are grateful to hear of Sylla’s full recovery.
The sudden onset of his anaphylaxis took everyone, including him, by surprise. Luckily, medical staff was on hand to provide immediate treatment.
This is another example of how life-threatening anaphylaxis can strike anywhere at any time. If you have been prescribed epinephrine, you must always take two emergency devices along — auto-injector or nasal spray — everywhere, every time, and be sure to administer the first when you first suspect anaphylaxis.
Epinephrine is the only drug that can halt and reverse the progression of anaphylaxis, but it must be administered early to provide the best outcome.
And it can’t save your life if it’s left home in the medicine cabinet.
