Thoughts and Prayers

Back when I was a Christian, I found the idea of “thoughts and prayers” to be empty words. Usually, if the typical believer identifies that someone could use their thoughts and prayers, odds are they probably need something more than that. How about a sandwich?

Currently, as a non-believer in magic words, I find the gesture even more worthless.

Such is the case with Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills Safety who suffered a cardiac arrest during the Bills-Bengals game Monday night. Best guesses so far is that he suffered from commotio cordis, a fairly rare phenomenon common among young athletes who experience blunt trauma to the sternum area.

As I understand it, the medical approach to cases like Hamlin’s is that the patient’s body temperature is significantly reduced, especially in the head, thus reducing the metabolic requirements of the brain. This approach reduces the potential for the brain suffering major injury due to reduced blood and oxygen flow.

How unfortunate that the human body suffers from this problem. If the heart stops for a significant amount of time, the brain is at extreme risk of dying. Even a small amount of time without oxygen can render severe, lifelong mental deficiency.

Yet, believers pray to God that Hamlin doesn’t die because of the poor design this designer chose us to have. And if he survives, their prayers were answered. If he happens to have lifelong disabilities because of his injury, well God is still good for keeping him alive.

Nevermind that it was science and medicine (not via divine intervention) that discovered clever and creative ways, after centuries of practice and piles of dead bodies, to significantly improve outcomes from injuries such as these.

I don’t really have a bottom line here. Just griping. Hope you’re all having a great start to the new year.