Noreiga making steady progress.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).[/size]
National defender Anthony Noreiga has made steady progress since being warded at the Harbour UCLA Hospital after suffering a brain contusion in the first half of Trinidad and Tobago’s 2-0 loss to the USA in Los Angeles last Saturday.
Noreiga, of bMobile Joe Public went down in the 14th minute following a clash with two players and had to be rushed to hospital where two CT scans revealed he suffered bruising and bleeding to the front of the brain.
Since being warded in intensive care unit since Saturday, TTFF Media can now reveal that Noreiga has made great progress over the past three days.
From being unconscious during the first day, he is now sitting up, talking, following commands, has good memory of events in the past like phone numbers and the events of T&T’s first match against EL Salvador. He also spoke to his wife and brother on Tuesday and is aware that his teammates have a game against Guatemala. He is not yet walking around and team doctor Terrence Babwah will remain in LA until hospital doctor discharges him and allows him to fly back to Trinidad accompanied by Babwah and Sam Phillip.
The 25-year-old player has played seven times for T&T and is a former member of American A-League team Vancouver Whitecaps as well as George Mason University, Princes Town and Pleasantville Senior Comprehensive. He is currently signed to Pro League champions B Mobile Joe Public.
Update on Anthony Noreiga.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
Since the injury suffered by National Senior Team player Anthony Noreiga during the Gold Cup first round game against the USA on June 9, several versions of his condition and treatment have surfaced, some of which are quite misleading.
In the interest of setting the record straight, the Trinidad and 'Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) felt it necessary to release pertinent details of a report jointly prepared by team manager Joseph Sam Phillip and Dr Terence Babwah, who accompanied the local squad during its Gold Cup campaign.
Mr Noreiga suffered injury to the head, later diagnosed as a cerebral contusion. From June 9 to June 14 he was an in-patient at the Harbor UCLA Trauma Hospital, beginning with admission to the ICU from June 9, then transfer to a step-down ward (both of which limited visitors) and eventually, on June 12, he was relocated to a regular ward where visiting regulations were relaxed.
Because Dr Babwah and Mr Phillip considered the nature of the sustained injury serious enough, these officials stayed in Los Angeles with Mr Noreiga while the rest of the team traveled to Boston for their final game versus Guatemala .
On June 14, Mr Noreiga was discharged from hospital in stable condition and the attending neurosurgeon declared him fit for air travel to return home. Mr Noreiga was advised that, for some time to come he might experience certain symptoms and, due to the delicate nature of his condition, doctors could not fix a precise time-frame for complete recovery.
He was advised to commence a rehabilitation programme, which could be effectively administered in Trinidad . This was all done in the presence of Mr Phillip and Dr Babwah, who visited Mr Noreiga twice daily from June 10 to June 12. On the night of June 12, after visiting he was, for the first time since being admitted, allowed food and medication via mouth.
On Wednesday June 13, Mr Phillip and Dr Babwah visited with Mr Noreiga until 1 pm and, as usual, got a medical update from attending doctors and, at every sequence, informed his wife of progress. The officials left early to go to the airport to pick up Mr Noreiga's mother, whose flight was scheduled to arrive shortly before 7 pm that evening, en route from Miami .
The plan was to take her directly from the airport to his bedside and drop off a fresh supply of toiletries at that time. Mr Phillip and Dr Babwah arrived at the airport about 15 minutes before the originally scheduled touchdown time, only to discover that bad weather at Miami delayed the flight until 2 am on June 14. They stayed the distance and picked her up, but could not return to the hospital at that time; even to drop off the toiletries (nurses advised they would take care of that detail overnight).
On Thursday June 14, Mr Phillip, Dr Babwah and Mr Noreiga's mother visited with him from 10am until 5pm when he was discharged. It should be noted that, upon hearing of the accident, Mr Noreiga's mother had approached the TTFF expressing a desire to visit her son, although she was without a US visa.
The TTFF intervened asking the US Embassy for assistance and they responded magnificently. The Federation supplied Mr Noreiga's mother with the necessary airline tickets. She said she would be staying at the home of her sister in Los Angeles but, on the day before her arrival there, Mr Phillip received information that she would need a hotel room. The Federation also supplied hotel accommodation and a substantial per diem.
Mr Noreiga was officially discharged from hospital in time to travel home in first-class seating with Mr Phillip and Dr Babwah on June 15, the latter strongly recommended by medical personnel at the hospital, but his mother asked that they be allowed to stay for a few more days. The officials retained their original travel dates, while mother and son were then booked to begin their travel home on June 18; with the Federation underwriting the additional time and enhancing the per diem.
Dr Babwah has made it absolutely clear that every aspect of Mr Noreiga's follow-up Medicare could be effectively administered in Trinidad.
Sincerely,
Richard Groden
General Secretary
