Thursday, February 21, 2008

Come to Buffalo for the Wings, Stay for the Hospital Care

The fine upstate New York city of Buffalo has a national profile that is unusually prominent for a town of less than 300,000 people. Buffalo, like many cities in the Rust Belt, has witnessed a steady population decline over the last 40 years as steel production and manufacturing work dried up. Buffalo is somewhat notorious for its brutal winters, brought about by its proximity to Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Of course, where would dinner parties be without Buffalo Wings? In the sporting world, Buffalo is the lovable loser. Four straight appearances in the Super Bowl by the Buffalo Bills, and four straight losses, have secured Buffalo's place in the American sporting world hall of shame for all time Let's not forget that everyone's favorite non-guilty-but-legally-liable defendant, O.J. Simpson, hit his greatest heights while wearing a Bills uniform.

Lately, however, Buffalo, and more specifically its doctors, have given the sports world two of its best medical stories. Last fall, Buffalo doctors acted swiftly and decisively, using relatively untested techniques, to save Bills player Kevin Everett from almost certain paralysis. The emergency care Everett received in the first hours after the on-field hit that rendered him unable to move his limbs is widely credited with Everett's remarkable recovery.

Buffalo doctors are now being given their due credit for saving the life of hockey player Richard Zednik, whose carotid artery was accidentally severed by the skate of one of his teammates. In a lurid but courageous effort, Zednik managed to skate back to his bench, his neck spewing blood all the way. Zednik credits the doctors who treated him in Buffalo with saving his life.

Life-threatening injuries are not too common in sports, but if you have to have one, Buffalo seems to be a place that will give you a pretty good shot at recovery.

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