7-year-old applauds new concussion rules
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JEFFERSON COUNTY – When Dylan Hearn steps up to the plate at batting practice for his little league baseball team, his coach is watching his swing. He’s watching his footsteps. And, he’s been trained to watch for signs of a concussion.
“If they look harder, then they can see it and make sure you’re okay,” said Dylan, 7 years old.
It’s important to him, because he’s been there.
“Two concussions and a scar right here,” said Dylan, pointing to his forehead.
Dylan suffered his first concussion playing football this past summer. He says he suffered another concussion when he ran into the dishwasher at his home.
“I was chasing my brother,” said Dylan.
His mother, Alex Hearn, admits she didn’t understand the full implications of concussions till it happened to her son.
“I think people don’t take it as seriously as they probably need to,” said Alex Hearn.
She says her son was impacted for nearly a month.
“We took him to the ER,” said Alex Hearn. “They can’t really watch TV. They can’t play video games. They can’t read. They can’t do homework.”
Dylan says his concussions were serious business.
“It hurts,” said Dylan. “A lot of sick and dizzy. Sometimes, you have blackouts.”
Jeff Pigati is Dylan’s baseball coach. Pigati says in the old days, a concussion was usually not part of the discussion when a player got injured.
“We tried to use common sense, but really it was in the player’s hands,” said Pigati. “Ultimately, it was the player that told us they were good enough and the player would come back, usually probably too early.”
That’s what happened to Jake Snakenberg.
Snakenberg died in September 2004 after sustaining a serious concussion in a football game. Doctors believe it was his second concussion in a week and he died of Second Impact Syndrome. Just before the game, he told everyone he was fine.
That’s why there is now a law in place called the Jake Snakenberg Act. It requires all coaches, like Pigati, to undergo concussion training to look for signs of possible brain injury.
Dylan and Alex Hearn applaud the new measures.
“Well, anyone that has kids knows that kids hit their heads all the time,” said Alex Hearn. “You know they get hurt all the time, but there are certain things that you have to look for.”
Pigati believes a coach’s keen eye can save a life.
“When there’s an accident or when there’s an injury on the field, we’re usually the first to arrive,” said Pigati. “What we’re looking for are things like confusion. We’re looking for headaches, dizziness, nausea, the inability to focus.”
An online training program was developed so coaches can have easy access to the information. If you want to see it, you can click here: http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/HeadsUp/online_training.html
“We don’t just coach. We teach life lessons,” said Pigati. “If these kids understand what kind of symptoms to look for themselves, that promotes more health and safety across the board.”
Alex Hearn says it creates a little peace of mind for parents that coaches, like Pigati, will now be watching their kids’ brains, as well as their swings.
“Having the coaches having to do that will also help inform the parents, as well,” said Alex Hearn.
Dylan says he likes the new law for one simple reason.
“Because it’s safe,” said Dylan.
(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)
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