Jean-Pierre Adams has played 22 times for the French national team. In France, the football player of the national team Jean-Pierre Adams died at the age of 73. The athlete was the victim of a medical error during surgery and spent 39 years in a coma.
In March 1982, Adams was admitted to one of Lyon’s hospitals for scheduled knee surgery, but he never woke up from the anesthesia due to a medical error. On that day, there was a nationwide doctors’ strike in France. According to some reports, one anesthesiologist was responsible for several operations throughout the hospital and accidentally mixed up the dosage of the anesthetic.
Jean-Pierre Adams was born in Senegal in 1948. He started playing youth football in the mid-1960s and played as a central defender until the end of his career. He spent most of his time with two clubs – Nice and Paris Saint-Germain. From 1972 to 1976, he played 22 games for the French national team.
“The ability to enjoy life, the charisma and the professional experience of Adams inspire deep respect,” said the statement of the Paris Saint-Germain club. Nice, in turn, decided to pay special tribute to Adams on September 19, before the start of the game on their own field against Monaco. Adams also made 84 appearances for Nima, whose management expressed “sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased”.
On the day of surgery for the knee ligament Adams injured in practice, many of the hospital workers where he was admitted were on strike. Nevertheless, the decision was made to proceed with the surgery, even though the anesthesiologist had eight other patients to monitor at the same time, including the football player. Adams was also monitored by an intern, who later admitted that he was unprepared for the task.
Together, the anesthesiologist and resident made a series of fatal mistakes that caused Adams to go into cardiac arrest and suffer brain damage. At the same time, the anesthesiologist and the resident were not punished for their actions until the mid-1990s, and even then they got off with a one-month suspension and a fine of 750 euros.
After 15 months in the hospital, Adams was taken home to Nim, where his wife, Bernadette, cared for him until the end. We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what happens next. The number of episodes should remain: episodes. The end of the story. Advertising Podcasts.
“Bernadette Adams, a wonderful woman with a kind soul and a strong character, never once thought of taking her husband off life support, despite his condition,” writes the BBC’s sports correspondent in African countries, Pierce Edwards, in a commentary on Adams’ death. “For four decades, she spent almost every day with Jean-Pierre, changing his clothes, preparing his meals, never forgetting to bring him gifts and having long conversations with him.” Unfortunately, she was met with silence, and yet the nurses noticed that when Bernadette occasionally took a day or two off, the patient’s mood changed slightly.
“In 2016, I visited the Adams’ home in the south of France,” Edwards recalls. “And it was then that Bernadette told me that the hospital had never apologized for that incident, which she remembers every day.” But France has not forgotten its footballer either. In his honor, stadiums in three of the country’s municipalities and a handball club hall have been named.