Concussion awareness is changing the game
If your child is starting a new sports season this spring, that initial parent meeting will look a little different than it has in the past.
That’s because Rowan’s Law came into effect in March, making it mandatory for all sports organizations to establish concussion codes of conduct, as well as strict protocols for removing from play — then gradually returning — any athletes with suspected concussions.
The law is named after Rowan Stringer, a 17-year-old Ottawa student who lost her life in 2013 after sustaining three concussions in a short time, a condition called second-impact syndrome.
Rowan’s parents, Kathleen and Gordon Stringer, were in Toronto recently to talk about their daughter, the new law and the importance of treating concussions with caution.
Their experience is one every parent wishes desperately to avoid.
The Stringers say working to help keep other young athletes safe has been therapeutic in some respects.
“When we came out of the hospital that night alone, and came back to a house with an empty bedroom, we went to bed and didn’t sleep that much,” Kathleen said in an interview with the Star.
“But the phones started ringing and the first call was Trillium Gift of Life telling us that all of her organs had been transplanted successfully. So that gave us an immediate sort of peace and solace, to know that she still lives on.”
The phone kept ringing, and it was the media.
“We had to make a decision very quickly on whether we should just tell them to not bother us … But we both decided, when we found out her death was preventable, that we could do something to make sure no other family had to go through such a devastating loss.”
Their efforts have led to legislative change that many say should become a model for other provinces to follow.
In addition to requiring sports organizations to have what are known as both remove-from-sport and return-tosport protocols, the bill also updates part of the Education Act with a new section that requires boards to comply with concussion policies and guidelines for pupils.
What this looks like on the soccer or baseball field this summer, though, should begin at that first family meeting to kick off the season, says Dr. Charles Tator, a brain surgeon and director of the Canadian Concussion Centre at Toronto Western Hospital.
“When kids sign up for a sport at the beginning of the year, there will be pre-season meetings. They will have to sign off that they know something about concussions and that the players are willing to abide by the code of conduct for that sport,” Tator said.
In hockey, for example, that code of conduct is going to read that hitting from behind is “terrible misbehaviour and will be dealt with harshly,” he said.
Teams will also be required to share with families their detailed protocols for removing kids from sport when concussion is suspected in the slightest, as well as gradual, physician-led steps for getting athletes back on the field, court or ice.
“What Rowan Stringer taught us with her fatality is that during the recovery process it’s extremely important not to get another concussion, because getting another concussion can, in fact, be fatal,” Tator said. “Fortunately, what happened to her is a very rare thing, but it does happen from time to time.”
Knowledge of concussions has advanced in recent years and one underlying theme is that no parent or sports coach can look at a kid who has just hit their head and decide whether or not they’re concussed.
Only a medical doctor or nurse practitioner can screen for and diagnose a concussion, says Stephanie McFarland, an occupational therapist in pediatric brain injury at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.
Holland Bloorview works with kids who’ve sustained brain injury to help them gradually get back to school and sport. It also offers a lot of free resources on youth concussion that can be found on its website.
McFarland says that one of the things the hospital is trying to get across to parents is the importance of striking a balance between total inactivity and doing too much. She says parents need to “make sure that kids are doing safe activities, that they’re trying things, but not putting themselves at risk for secondary injury.”
Gordon Stringer says he hopes youth and their parents take to heart this mantra: “Don’t give concussions a second chance.”
Getting good treatment and clearance from a doctor or nurse practitioner before returning to learn and play is vital, he says.
“We don’t ever want the message to be one of having our kids running around in bubbles and not doing anything, because there are so many benefits from sport and physical activity. But when (a concussion) does happen, you have to be vigilant and to take the time to ensure they get the care they need,” Gordon said.
Kathleen echoes what her husband says.
“I’ll have parents ask me, ‘Would you put Rowan into sports knowing what you know?’ I say, ‘Yes I would.’ Rowan was one of those kids who had boundless energy. I don’t know how we would have been put up with her if we didn’t put her in sports. We used to have to pay her in the car to stop talking: 25 cents if she ever lasted one minute.”
Sports helped their daughter acquire leadership skills that led her to becoming a team captain admired by her fellow athletes, says Kathleen. Sports also further developed her natural drive to help people, which had spurred Rowan’s plans to attend nursing school at the University of Ottawa, where she’d been accepted to attend in the fall.
“If Rowan was watching this she’d be like ‘Look, there’s a law named after me and every one knows my name!’ She was a good kid. Lots of fun,” said her mother.
“When you lose a child there’s a real fear that over the years they’ll be forgotten. And we feel that we’ve really done a good job making a positive legacy for Rowan and that maybe people won’t forget her name.”
“We both decided, when we found out her death was preventable, that we could do something to make sure no other family had to go through such a devastating loss.” KATHLEEN STRINGER MOTHER OF ROWAN STRINGER