National Senior Team defender Julius James is warded at the Riverside Hospital after suffering a lung collapse following a training session on Wednesday with his American Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew.
James said he felt some tightness in his chest and rib area while doing some functional movement exercises at the Columbus practice field and was taken in for observation at the Doctor before being warded on Thursday.
“It happened while I was doing some functional movement. I just felt some tightness in my chest and ribs. I was observed by the Doctor and then I was sent to ER,” James told TTFF Media from his hospital bed.
“They did a CT scan which showed that there was air between my lung and chest cavity. They carried out a 30 minute procedure. They inserted a tube up into my chest.
"I’m resting comfortably but I will be warded until my right lung goes back into normal function. I hope to be out of here in a day’s time” added James.
The Columbus Crew is handling all James’ medical needs.
The former St Anthony’s College player was on the verge of making a full return to action with the Crew after undergoing reconstructive shoulder surgery late last year.
The 27-year-old James has 15 appearances for T&T and was named Columbus’s top defender for the 2011 MLS Season. A pneumothorax is the medical term for a collapsed lung.
When a person has a pneumothorax, he or she usually has sharp chest pains on the side of the lung collapse, and he or she may cough and have shortness of breath. The symptoms can be mild or quite severe, depending upon how collapsed the lung is. If the collapse is large, a person may have a very fast pulse rate and go into shock. A large, untreated pneumothorax can be fatal.
A pneumothorax is usually diagnosed by a chest X-ray. If a pneumothorax is small and if the symptoms are mild and the person is otherwise healthy, no treatment may be necessary other than rest. A large pneumothorax requires hospitalization and placement of a chest tube into the space between the lungs and the ribs which is what James underwent..
The tube removes the air that has collected around the lung that keeps the lung from expanding. Once the air is released, the deflated lung can expand and heal.
"The doctors say it will depend on how long the lung takes to get back to regular size and function will determine how long I remain in Hospital," James said.