Fifteen-year-old Madison “Maddy” Schrader was at a softball tournament in Lincoln early this summer when she took a hard hit while fielding a ball in the outfield. At first, the Omaha youth seemed mildly shaken up, but generally OK.
Her dad, the team’s assistant coach Brandon Schrader tells the story this way: “I think it was the third inning; there was a runner on third, one out, and a fly ball went to right field. Maddy caught the ball, but she hit the ground pretty hard. She popped back up, threw the ball into home plate and then played through the rest of the inning. I asked if she was OK, and she said yes, so I went back to the field.”
Recognizing unusual symptoms
Later in the dugout, there were signs that the notoriously goofy Maddy was more shaken up than anyone could readily see. She couldn’t find her batting helmet, when in reality she was wearing it. “It was already on my head and I didn’t know it,” Maddy says.
And there were other signs that something wasn’t right. Maddy went up to bat and fouled off a ball but didn’t comprehend it. When coaches talked to her, they discovered it was because her vision was impaired.
As she walked back to the dugout and took off her helmet, some of the adults noticed she was crying. Brandon recalls, “I asked her why she was crying and she said she didn’t know. She wasn’t wobbly or anything like that, but I could see that she was ‘off.’ Her eyes were kind of glazed over.”
It was at this point that Brandon sent his daughter to see the athletic trainers stationed at the game as part of the Bryan sports medicine/athletic training outreach program, a collaborative effort between Bryan Medical Center and Lincoln Orthopaedic Center (LOC).
The program was established in 2011 and has grown from two certified athletic trainers serving three schools to a team serving schools in Lincoln, David City, Wahoo, Crete, York, Waverly and Seward. The program is headed by Bryan rehabilitation services manager Ed Meelhuysen and LOC sports medicine director Corey Courtney.
“We provide professional athletic training coverage in communities throughout eastern Nebraska, through partnerships with local high schools, youth sports organizations and local community hospitals,” Ed says.
During the summer, the athletic trainers are able to provide sports medicine coverage at numerous community sporting events, such as the one Maddy participated in.
“Our athletic trainers partner with their local schools and communities to provide hometown care,” Corey says. “This program not only focuses on the proper diagnosis and treatment of sports injuries for our young athletes but also on proper education, identification and treatment of concussions and other mild head injuries. As sports have become so much more prevalent and injury awareness has grown, we are really proud to offer this service to our region’s youth.”
When Maddy went to the ground, hitting her chest and head, it was a good thing the athletic trainers were on hand, as things went downhill from there.
Emergency action plan
Athletic trainer Rachel Hall, ATC, picks up the story: “Maddy came to the aid tent where we evaluated her. We could tell right away that something was wrong. She was very lethargic, had trouble staying awake and demonstrated other neurologic symptoms. It was determined that she needed immediate transport to the hospital. Certified trainer Terry Adair activated what we call our emergency action plan.” Rachel says, “We kept Maddy comfortable and stable until the ambulance arrived.”
Maddy was taken to the Bryan Trauma Center,where she was in a coma for 36 hours. Eventually, she was transferred to Children’s Hospital in Omaha and continues her therapy there.
“I was surprised by her injuries, because she’s even played with broken bones and usually rebounds pretty quickly after getting hurt. I’m usually the one who freaks out,” Brandon says with a laugh. “This time things weren’t clicking, so it was a different thing. It was very difficult for us, waiting in the hospital to find out what was going on.”
Made all the difference
The family credits having the athletic trainers on hand for taking quick action and knowing exactly what to do for Maddy.
“It made a difference to have the trainers there. The team on Maddy’s case was amazing,” Brandon says. “What it boils down to is that we don’t always have this level of care at every tournament. If Rachel and Terry hadn’t been here, the outcome could have been very different. So I think this program made a
world of difference – I’m not happy it happened, but I am happy that the athletic trainers were there.”
Says Rachel, “We hope that this story will help families involved in youth sporting events to understand that concussions and other injuries can be more serious than they realize – especially if they are not reported and the child continues to play, running the risk of secondary impact syndrome. We want parents to know that these things can happen anytime. It’s not just a ‘boy’ thing or ‘football’ thing. Serious injuries can happen in any sport.”
ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://journalstar.com/sponsored/athletic-trainers-are-valuable-teammates/article_f4f4b92c-8287-56a1-b351-d616426ab34b.html