“From that moment I knew that one day something tragic would happen”

Antonio Asso cardiologist who treated Raphael Dwamena while the Ghanaian is active in Saragossaexplained in an open letter published by El Heraldo de Aragón that a year ago he knew the tragic ending who is waiting for the footballer, who died this Saturday while playing against the Albaniawhen he fell fell down on the field of play to never rise again.

Asso explained that in 2019 some of the dizziness that Dwamena suffered from was related to some severe ventricular arrhythmias that happened during the games.

On that occasion they convinced him of the “imperative need to plant a defibrillator to at least ensure his life.” A decision accompanied by advice: to abandon professional sports training, without eliminating the subsequent intervention to address the root problem. “That he needs to stay alive, and for that is important the defibrillator,” said the doctor.

Over time, the implanted device saved his life “when showing a malignant arrhythmia that is automatically treated correctly” by the defibrillator.

But a year later, twelve months ago, Asso found out “that Dwamena requested that the defibrillator be removed,” intervention that was finally implemented. “From that moment I was knowing that one day something tragic will happen which took place last Saturday on a football field in Albania,” the cardiologist wrote. “He died as a result of an honorable personal decision, but “If the defibrillator hadn’t been explanted, Raphael would still be alive.”he added, to conclude with a resounding statement: “A person wearing a defibrillator has not died, but someone NOT wearing it.”