Nearly 10 days ago Eagles DT Mike Patterson collapsed on the practice field at Lehigh a suffered a seizure lasting about four minutes. About two days later he was given a preliminary diagnosis of AVM, which is a tangle of blood vessels outside his brain. It's a condition a person is born with and has a wide range of treatment options. Depending on where the AVM is located it could take anything from a very minor procedure to treat, to potentially major surgery. Apparently though, the prognosis is quite good. His agent, JR Rickert said in a statement yesterday that they received good news from a specialist and that it is "very likely" that Patterson will play this year.
"All the medical reports that we both looked at have been very favorable and positive. We’re just waiting for the doctors to make their final diagnosis, and their final treatment plan,"
Rickert said that there would be a further update on his condition Monday, but Patterson appeared back in practice this morning at Lehigh. Patterson was in uniform doing individual drills, but wasn't a participant in practice. Andy Reid said that he would continue to do conditioning drills until he's cleared to return to full practice. Either way, it's a very encouraging sign not only for Mike Patterson's life, but the chances of him playing football this season.
Andy Reid said that he would be doing conditioning for a about a week, then could be back practicing.
"He's going to do that and he's got to get himself back into shape. It'll probably be a week or so as we're looking at it now. It gives the doctors a chance to continue to evaluate him and for him to get back to where he feels he can get back out there and play."