For Young Athletes, Concussions Can Kill

After Deadly Injuries, Doctors Say Any Blow To The Head Should Be Looked At

(CBS)  Zackery Lystedt’s baseball coach has nothing but praise for this gifted athlete — and not just because his coach is also his dad.

“He excelled in baseball and especially in football,” Zack’s dad Victor said.

After a hard hit to the head in a middle school football game last fall, Zack came off the field, but the 13-year-old linebacker went back in during the second half.

Then he collapsed, CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes reports.

“I was begging God to keep him alive,” Victor Lystedt said. “He was in a coma for over 30 days.”

Now, Dad is still coaching, but it’s a whole new ball game. Zack can’t speak.

He can’t walk. He can’t even swallow. His mom quit her job as a dental assistant near Seattle to take care of him.

Zack's parents say he never should have been allowed back into the game after the first serious hit on the head.

“Because one game isn't worth a lifetime of events that we have to endure,” Victor Lystedt said.

A lawyer for the Tahoma school district says Zack showed no signs of a concussion before resuming play.

Seventeen-year-old Matthew Colby had not fully recovered from a hard hit when he played the following week — a fatal mistake for the Costa Mesa teenager. He walked off the field and collapsed.

“I put my hand on his shoulder and I said, 'Matthew, keep your eyes open,'” his grandfather, Mike Colby said. “And pretty soon he couldn't.”

The lesson for young athletes, parents and coaches: you don't need to be "unconscious" for a concussion to be serious.

Any of these symptoms – headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, memory loss, inability to concentrate – require a trip to the doctor before getting back in the game.

Many schools now require athletes to take a pre-season test for comparison if they sustain a head injury later.

“The benefit of it is tremendous, in terms of what we can do with it post-concussion,” said Dr. Vernon William of the Sports Concussion Institute. “It’s almost a no-brainer.”

Zack's parents believe his injury could have been prevented, and will be overcome.

“With his internal drive and spirit and with his warrior attitude, he'll be all right, he'll get through all of this,” his dad said.

[renee716]

brainbwb - what a mean outlook at 50+, how sad for you

[flatpicker1]

brianbwb, Sounds like you blew on your trumpet a little to hard and lost what brain matter you might have once had. Let's encourage our kids and grandkids to be like Brianbwb. Stay indoors,blow on trumpets and become obese.

[mleigh22]

brianbwb that sure wasn't very nice. Have a little compassion. Just because someone plays sports doesn't make them mean or dumb

[tmkgls]

I was hit on the head with a baseball bat in 3rd grade. Soon after my eyes started going bad rapidly and was expected to be blind by age 13. Thank God that didn't happen. I have my sight though have to wear strong glasses. I was no "jock" - just a kid in gym class. I didn't have any signs of a concussion. Any person, child or adult, should see a doctor immediately if hit on the head in any way - even without signs of concussion.

[brianbwb-2009]

We "nerds" avoided concussions by joining the marching band, learning to read music, play an instrument, and now, at 50+ years of age, can still make a living, while the "jocks", well, what do 50 year old jocks do?

Oh yeah, run for office, even though brain dead, and ruin the country...