Jean-Pierre Adams, an ex-soccer player in France, has died after being in a coma for 39 years. Adams, who was born in Senegal, played for nine consecutive seasons in France’s top football (soccer) division Ligue 1. He played for the clubs (teams) Nimes Olympique and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
The 73-year-old Adams fell into a coma in 1982 following a botched knee operation.
According to CNN, Adams went into a hospital for a routine operation on March 17, 1982, for a damaged tendon in his knee. Hospital workers were on strike when his surgery occurred and his life transformed forever.
“The female anesthetist was looking after eight patients, one after the other, like an assembly line,” his wife Bernadette, who cared for Adams at their home throughout his coma, told CNN back in 2016.
“Jean-Pierre was supervised by a trainee, who was repeating a year, who later admitted in court: ‘I was not up to the task I was entrusted with.’ Given it was not a vital operation, that the hospital was on strike, they were missing doctors and this woman was looking after eight patients, in two different rooms, someone should have called me to say they were going to delay the operation,” Bernadette further explained to CNN.
Besides not alerting Adams to postpone the surgery, numerous mistakes were also made between the anesthetist and trainee. Adams was badly intubated, with one tube blocking the pathway to his lungs rather than ventilating them, which resulted in him being starved of oxygen whereupon he suffered a cardiac arrest.
“This morning, we learned about the death of Jean-Pierre Adams. He played for Nimes on 84 occasions and alongside Marius Tresor, he formed the ‘Black guard’ in the French national team,” Nimes Olympique wrote on Twitter, as translated by ESPN. “The club offers its most sincere condolences to his loved ones and family.”
Nimes also announced that a tribute will be paid to Adams at their home match against Monaco on Sept. 19.
“Paris Saint-Germain has lost one of its glorious former players,” PSG also added in a statement, which was also translated by ESPN. “PSG offers its condolences to his family and loved ones.”
