Concern over the medical process in youth football, after a child gets a lacerated liver during a youth football game

 

 
I have updated the story with a communication from the North Port Huskies, which you will find at the end of this posting by anonymous. Frank
 
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Anonymous
 
I have a story for you, it has to do with a local youth football team. On Saturday a higher level was playing, 14U and a child took a terrible hit. He was sat on the bench for 30 minutes before they called 911. He has a lacerated liver and was transferred to all children. (anonymous sent me the attached text and numerous Facebook conversations regarding the injured child – Frankie).  The coaches and the paid medical team did nothing to help this child.  It took a parent that was watching the game to get the kid on to the ground and saw that his stomach was distended. He had been crying in pain and begging for someone to call his mother. Another issue was that the ambulance where North Port could not even drive onto the field because it is not set up for an emergency situation like that.  The city rents that field out to that team. They do not even have the proper gate for an ambulance.

 

I did ask the city about the access and their reply is below:

 

Gathering info from parks and rec as well as FD.

 

From Parks and Rec:

The City owns the fields, Sarasota County is responsible for rental/reservation and ongoing operation/maintenance under the interlocal.

 

In regard to emergency access at Butler Park, these fields have drop chains near the restroom to provide emergency vehicle access, multiple pedestrian gates that would provide gurney access, plus the fencing is not contiguous around the fields. The entire length of Spring Haven does not have a fence and can be used for vehicle access.

 
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From FD:

 

We try to make every effort to not take our vehicles off road. Due to the weight of the vehicles, and the uncertainty of the terrain we try to keep our vehicles on hard ground. Through the years, we have had many emergency responses to the football fields in the city. We are always able to position our ambulances close, evaluate the patient, and transfer them from the field on our stretcher without issue and in a timely manner.

 

In addition, NPFR provides EMS coverage at every North Port High School Football game with a roving utility vehicle.  There is a cost associated with this, but it is available for the other football leagues in the city.

 

The game went on as usual with the child in a lot of pain and he was having issues breathing.  A parent helped the kid up off the bench and helped lay him down.  Finally, another parent said that the child needed an ambulance and then some “nurse” someone’s mom from the team came over and looked at him.  She was pressing on his stomach and you could see one side was rock hard and the other side was normal

 

The child was begging them to call his mother. But I believe they were concerned that if they took him off that feel they would have had to forfeit.  It didn’t get forfeited until one of the coaches from another team child got injured and they threw a fit. The child that was tackling these kids was going way above and beyond. The refs did nothing.

 

Please get the word out, so that these coaches and paid medical staff can learn the importance of our youth’s health, over winning a game of football.

 

Anonymous

 

 
** Update ** From Francel Parker, North Port Huskies: In regards to the incident, the hit that the boy with the “lacerated liver” took, was actually a legal hit. He was attended to immediately on the sideline. He was evaluated by a registered nurse and EMT that was on site. There is no way to tell about an internal injury without imaging and the signs of a distended stomach were not present initially. Once there was a change in his condition, the NP Fire and Rescue were called immediately. They arrived on scene without difficulty and were able to take him away without any issues. His mother was notified and his head coach went to the hospital with him. There may have been some confusion by parents in regards to the child being monitored because there was a second injury that happened with a different child right afterwards. That injury was concluded to be a concussion and he also needed evaluation. That child’s parents took him to the hospital. During the entire timeline from the first child being injured and evaluated, the second child being injured and evaluated, the ambulance arriving and taking the first child away, and the second child going by parent to hospital was approximately 30 min in total. We have been in constant contact with the mother of the child with a “lacerated liver” and he was discharged yesterday with only a bruised liver. She’s upset that scenario with her son is being publicized in a negative light with the organization. Attached will be a screen shot of a text from the mother.
 

 

– Francel Parker (Operations Manager, North Port Huskies)