Martinez News Gazette- Congressman Thompson leads discussion on teen head injuries
By: Gerardo Recinos
Congressman Mike Thompson of California's Fifth Congressional District hosted an open forum on Monday evening to have an open discussion about the safety of high school athletes who have suffered from head injuries.
Thompson and his team hosted parents at Alhambra High School and provided a panel of experts that were there to give their expertise to parents concerned with the handling of head injuries on the field.
"There is one thing I can do, I can't stop concussions, and I can't treat concussions, but there is one thing I can do, and it's try and enlighten our community about concussions," Thompson said.
One of the experts, Dr. Jose Yasul, Director of Musculoskeletal and Sports Medicine Education at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center, presented basic information on concussion treatment and more importantly identification.
He also encouraged parents and coaches to keep in mind that athletes are driven toward competition, and will likely not want to accept injury immediately.
On tip Dr. Yasul offered was asking athletes how they feel based on a percentage from 1 percent to 100 percent. Yasul said if students say they feel 98 percent, the coach of parent should enquire as to what constitutes the two percent that is keeping them from being at full strength.
Yasul went through a list of signs of a concussion, as well as the symptoms that would alert a parent to get their child treated.
Also present was former NFL player Onome Ojo, who was drafted in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints, and won a Super Bowl title with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Ojo offered tips as a former player that gave insight into the mind of any athlete.
He reminisced about his time with former 49er great Jerry Rice, and how the Hall of Famer told him to remember that football is a business.
"Don't do something insane, don't do things that will put you at greater risk to get injured," Ojo said.
"The last thing you tell an athlete is not to go fast," he said. "When we get in that zone, we are flying, and sometimes we do things for the sake of the team, and we want to win, and we will sacrifice ourselves. But what Jerry told me was ‘make a career decision.'"
Elizabeth Edgerly, chief regional program officer with the Alzheimer's Association, highlighted the long term effects of the big hits athletes take on the field, and the lasting effects. Her words mirrored those of Ojo, who recalled the 10-year reunion of the 2002 Super Bowl winning Bucs. He noted some players were no longer alive, some were in poor condition, and only a select few were like him, with a good job, and healthy life.
"Make a career decision," Ojo repeated. "And that isn't just a collegiate, or a scholarship, or professional career, we're talking about a life here. [Living to be] 70, 80, or 90 years old and still being able to operate, live well, and live forward."