What can be done to prevent spinal injuries?

Published 9:21 am Monday, January 9, 2012

Column: Aaron Worm,  Behind the Mic

Injuries happen in contact sports. Rules are in place, and there are advancements in equipment to try to prevent severe injuries, but not all can be prevented.

Aaron Worm

I am sure you have heard the name Jack Jablonski, the 16-year-old hockey player from Benilde St. Margaret’s who is now paralyzed after a severe injury during a game on Dec. 30. Jablonski was checked from behind and suffered a severed spinal cord at the neck and two fractured vertebrae. Jablonski had a spinal fusion surgery on Wednesday and doctors have informed his parents he will never walk again.

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The outpouring of support for this young man and his family has been amazing. His caringbridge.org website has had more than 300,000 visits. Funds can be donated through the website Jabby13.com, and the Gophers men’s hockey team raised money for the family during their game Saturday night against Notre Dame. I have read many of the entries on different websites and the support is coming from all over the United States. There was one post from a student in London, too.

If you follow sports at any level, you have seen someone get injured. Most of the time it might be a sprained ankle, sore back or a bruise, something that might keep the player sidelined for the rest of the game or maybe a couple of weeks.

Worse injuries do happen. I have seen high school athletes break bones and be lost for the season. What happened to Jablonski, thank goodness, is something that rarely happens.

I talked to Albert Lea boys’ hockey coach Roy Nystrom about the Jablonski, and he said “In 46 years of coaching I have never experienced someone having an injury so severe.” Nystrom went on to say, “Everyone knows checking from behind is dangerous. We tell our kids don’t go hard in on the kid, keep your stick down and, if you see the numbers on his back, watch it.”

On Facebook, I have seen many friends change their profile picture to a picture with a red No. 13 that says “Jack Jablonski, in our hearts” The story has touched a lot of people, and there are definitely thousands of supporters, like myself, who are praying for this young man and his family every day. Besides the websites I already listed, donations can be made to the Jablonski family by going to any Wells Fargo, and mention the “Jack Jablonski Fund.”

Fluke accidents happen in sports. I think many would agree that was the case here. Should the high school league do anything in the wake of this horrific injury? If you eliminated all checking on the boards, you would drastically change the game. Coaches need to continue to emphasize to their players what is legal and not when it comes to checking, and officials have to make sure to penalize the players, which could include ejection from the game, for illegal hits.

I read on Jablonski’s Caringbridge site last night that due to swelling after his surgery he is having difficulty swallowing and can’t eat, so he is getting his nourishment through a feeding tube. This young man has a long road ahead of him, but hopefully with all the support and prayers, he recovers as fast as possible and proves all the doctors wrong.

 

KATE Sports Director Aaron Worm’s column appears each Monday in the Tribune. He can be heard from 6 to 11 a.m. weekdays on The Breeze.