The Ile-de-France pillar had not been seen on the pitch for six months. For Rugby Ramahe returned to this painful episode which marked his career.
He made his comeback to competition this Sunday against Lyon. Since June 16 and this play-off match lost against Union Bordeaux-Bègles, the left pillar of Racing 92, Hassane Kolingar (26 years old, 3 caps), had been kept away from the field. For the first time, he explained, in the columns of Rugby Rama the reason for his long absence.
On July 20, Hassane Kolingar was present at the wedding of his friend Ibrahim Diallo, the third row of Racing 92. “When I got there, I gave myself a “Snus” (flavored nicotine ball, Editor’s note) against the gum and I sit waiting for the bride and groom. It's nothing illegal, right… There's no tobacco in it, but it's some real shit, I think. At the time, I just found it relaxed, that's all. Many athletes consume it. Lots of young people too…”
But, quickly, he feels discomfort: “At one point, I burst out laughing and I immediately felt pressure in my chest. My heart is beating very hard. I sweat a lot. I see stars. I think I'm just having a hypoglycemic attack and, so as not to spoil the ceremony, I step aside. My eardrums are pounding, I feel like needles are being stuck in my head. (…) I hurt, really hurt, and my eyes are rolling back. I'm having a cardiac arrest.”.
«The surgeon had to first trigger a new cardiac arrest…»
Taken care of by the firefighters, Kolingar was plunged into a coma, transferred to Auxerre hospital, then very quickly “in the cardiology department” from a Plessis Robinson clinic. The international pillar then remained bedridden for ten days. During this period, several doctors assured him that he should “make a cross” on rugby, before a cardiologist from Bordeaux changed the course of history, of its history.
“In Bordeaux, Doctor Sacher very quickly told me that the aim of the operation, which would last almost five hours, was to clean the scar I had had on my heart since my birth. It had to be reworked to prevent short circuits, in short. But for that, he had to first trigger a new cardiac arrest…”
-“I was a textbook case, a sort of laboratory rat! Nobody wanted to believe that it had really worked, so after the operation I had to do dozens of additional tests.”
Easier said than done. “The first time, I was injected with a large dose of adrenaline: RAS. So, I took “snus” again under the advice of doctors. Around me, there were five of them with electric batteries to get me going again. It was quite a thing, I swear: on the operating table, I was praying to God that he would cause a cardiac arrest and that the operation could take place. It lasted five hours and I woke up. It was August 29, 2024 and I finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Several weeks of “additional tests”. “I was a textbook case, a sort of laboratory rat! No one wanted to believe that it had really worked so after the operation I had to do dozens of additional tests, spend a few more weeks in a rehabilitation center in Versailles and repeat the snus test to check that the heart was no longer racing. The second operation, the one supposed to verify that the first had worked, therefore lasted seven hours and was conclusive.
Before the big news finally arrives for the French pillar : “It was the beginning of October. Major specialists met via video to discuss my case and examine my latest physical tests. They unanimously decided that I could return to rugby. The National Rugby League doctor was finally able to validate my license. I was so happy…”
