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Blog: Watch, Learn, Take ActionPosted by: Lindsay Hansen at Jan 27, 2012 12:00 AM CST Keywords: Education
The screening took place on the night of the President’s State of the Union address. CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta produced the film, and he commented that we had our own “state of the union”—a crisis of undiagnosed concussions in our youth athletes. “Big Hits, Broken Dreams” tells the story of a star football running back, Jaquan Waller, who lost his life due to “second impact syndrome.” Second impact syndrome is where an individual suffers two (or more) separate head injuries but does not take sufficient rest and recovery time after the initial concussion. While Jaquan complained of headaches and dizziness after his first hit, there was no athletic trainer on the field, nor was there any medical professional evaluation thereafter. The coaching staff was unaware of Jaquan’s fragile state, so he returned the next day for the big Friday night football game. A mild hit was just enough to rattle his already severely swollen brain, which ultimately caused fatal internal bleeding. “Big Hits, Broken Dreams” poignantly captures the heart and mind of this issue. We, as parents, coaches, school administrators and safety advocates, must begin to look beyond wins and losses or the potential athletic scholarship. To start, we can first learn the signs and symptoms of a concussion. If you are a youth coach or parent, you can look for a sports safety or concussion clinic in your area, to learn more about this injury. As an athlete, you can look out for your peers for possible signs and symptoms of a head injury during games and practices. And for yourself, you must remind yourself that no Friday night game is bigger and brighter than your future. Take action today by learning more about concussion detection and prevention.
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