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San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel opened up on his terrifying battle against pneumonia that left him struggling for his life as the wide receiver described the issue as, "like an elephant on your chest".
He was struck with the issue prior to the clash against the AFC West's Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7 and needed oxygen just to survive as few as four snaps before he left the clash with fluid in his lungs.
He had initially only suspected he needed some glucose to perk up his system, but it turns out that he needed much more urgent medication attention and he described that feeling as he recalled the lethargic feeling.
"That was no joke. It kind of felt like an elephant on your chest," Samuel told Cleat and Convos. "Called my IV lady over, and got an IV.
"Headed over to the stadium and I got there and I still had no energy. So I'm just like maybe I need some sugar or something.
"We tried everything. I tried to go out there in pregame and I felt like I was literally on my last breath."
After being pulled out of the game, he headed to the emergency room and ended up spending two days in hospital before being discharged by the doctors, and fortunately for himself, returned to form against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8.
How many people does pneumonia kill?
Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs caused by either a virus or by bacteria and on occasion, fungi, and can affect either one lung or both of them. If the disease is viral or bacterial then it can be infectious.
And it can be devastating to the body, as evidenced by the struggle of Samuel who is an elite-level, high-performance athlete specializing in a cardio-based sport in the form of American Football.
Thus, it's no surprise that it claims over 2.2 million lives per year worldwide with around half a million being children younger than the age of five.