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OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Saturday, May 12, 2018
CONCUSSION: Records requests sent to 235 schools
Continued from 1A
Rate of concussions
in high school sports
She said last year her
organization received a
copy of one of the concus-
sion medical release forms
and saw how much informa-
tion it contained. See thought
there might be a story there.
Those forms are public
records, and Van der Voo is
a long-time public records
advocate. “What could all
those medical release forms
show?” she asked.
Six months ago she
started asking 235 Oregon
schools for the records, with
redactions of personal infor-
mation to comply with the
federal Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act.
“I always make sure my
request goes to at least two
people, and usually I shoot
for three,” she said.
The requests include 20
schools in Gilliam, Morrow,
Umatilla, Union and Wal-
lowa counties.
The high schools of
Hermiston,
Pendleton,
Boardman, Irrigon, Helix
and Ukiah provided the
records. Pendleton High
provided a well-organized
wealth of data, van der Voo
said, and Irrigon handed
over the records the same
day it was requested, while
Riverside High in Board-
man took just two days. Irri-
gon and Riverside are in the
Morrow County School Dis-
trict and did not charge for
the records.
Records are in progress
from Heppner Junior-Senior
High School, as they are
from Nixyaawii Commu-
nity School. But the requests
“stalled,” she said, at Stan-
field Secondary School and
La Grande High School.
And 11 schools did not even
respond to the requests,
including the schools in
Umatilla, Pilot Rock and
Wallowa.
“I have very limited time
to chase 235 schools,” van
der Voo said, but Umatilla,
one of the larger schools
in the area, is on her list of
organization to pester.
Under Oregon’s pub-
lic records law, however,
the onus is on the record
provider to comply with a
request, not on the requester
to keep prodding for records.
Darrick Cope is the
superintendent and principal
of Helix schools. He recalled
casting a skeptical eye on
the request because he was
not familiar with the group
and was concerned with pro-
viding possibly confidential
Per 100,000
athletic exposures
Football: 64-76.8
Boys ice hockey: 54
Boys lacrosse: 40-46.6
Girls soccer: 33
Girls lacrosse: 31-35
Girls field hockey: 22-22.9
Boys soccer: 19-19.2
Girls basketball: 18.6-21
Boys basketball: 16-21.2
Girls softball: 16-16.3
Cheerleading: 11.5-14
Girls volleyball: 6-8.6
Girls gymnastics: 7
Boys baseball: 4.6-5
Track and field/cross coun-
try: 4
EO file photo
Data from the High School
Reporting
Information
Online Injury Surveillance
System, NCAA Injury Sur-
veillance System, American
Journal of Epidemiology,
November 2004, and Amer-
ican College of Sports Med-
icine, 2012
Helmet to helmet contact at home plate knocks the face mask off the catcher at a recent game in Hermiston.
information. When he deter-
mined the request was legit-
imate, he said he asked the
athletic director to provide
the records.
Helix’s Griswold High
School is small, and Cope
estimated 10 students in
the past four years had con-
cussions. In each case, the
school used Dr. Earl’s prac-
tice to evaluate and treat
students.
“That gives us a person
who we can turn to that is
supposed to be an expert in
the field,” he said.
Helix also requires par-
ents of athletes from sixth
through 12th grades to sign
off on being a part of Earl’s
program before they can
play sports. A few parents
have balked at that, he said,
and some want their own
doctor to see the student.
They can do that, Cope said,
but Earl has to give the OK
on when or if students can
return to play.
“We’re trying to keep
your kids safe,” Cope said.
Umatilla schools Super-
intendent Heidi Sipe said
the request to Umatilla High
School may have gone to
the wrong person and fell
through some cracks.
“We would never leave
somebody in the dark on
purpose,” Sipe said.
Umatilla schools also
work with Earl and “have a
pretty extensive concussion
protocol,” she said, and get-
“I was just dizzy ... didn’t
remember anything after that.”
— Cam Sandford
Pendleton wide receiver, after receieving his first
concussion in a football game his sophomore year
EO file photo
Teammates congratulate Pendleton wide receiver
Cam Sandford (4) after he made a diving catch for
a touchdown in the Bucks’ 20-19 loss to Bend in
September 2017.
ting the records would not
be difficult.
Peter Weber is the exec-
utive director of the Oregon
School Activities Associa-
tion. He said Oregon schools
have not asked the associa-
tion to collect concussion
records.
But the association does
track some student athlete
injuries at the national level
with The National Federa-
tion of State High School
Associations, the organiza-
tion that writes the rule book
for high school sports and
activities. The OSAA also
participates in High School
RIO, an internet-based data
collection tool that tracks
concussions and the array of
other injuries.
In spite of some schools
that have not responded,
van der Voo said they have
“mountains of data” and
are only beginning to glean
useful information. Cheer-
leading, for example, has
resulted in more concus-
sions that she expected.
But data from plenty of
sources still show football
remains the concussion king
in U.S. school sports.
Pendleton High junior
wide receiver Cam Sand-
ford suffered two concus-
sions during football games
his sophomore year.
He said his first in 2016
when he went out for a pass,
caught the ball but slipped
and smacked his head.
“I was just dizzy ... didn’t
remember anything after
that,” he said.
The second came on a hit
after a play was over.
“I got a cheap shot hit
right in the side of my hel-
met,” he said. “And all I
remember is I played one
more play and it was really
blurry after that, and I don’t
remember too much after
it.”
He felt tired, he said, and
“didn’t feel motivated to do
much.” The feeling lasted
two or three days.
Despite the health con-
cerns, Sandford was ready
to give football another go
for his junior season.
“I knew that I wanted to
come back and contribute to
my team because I knew we
were going to have a strong
squad that year and I wanted
to be a part of the family,” he
said.
He also said he was aware
of findings that link concus-
sions to brain damage later
in life.
“I always hear stuff about
how it affects players after
they’re done,” he said, “but
I don’t really think about it
too much, I just go out there
and play but try to keep
myself safe.”
Concussion
diagnosis
has improved during the last
decade, Earl said, and edu-
cation is key.
“The more education
we have, the more (concus-
sions) we are catching,” he
said. He undoubtedly the
Oregon school data will
reveal helpful patterns.
Van der Voo said that’s
the whole point of the mas-
sive undertaking to obtain
these public records:
“I really hope that in the
end, we’re going to be able
to give parents and school
officials and coaches infor-
mation that they don’t
already have to help kids
with concussions,” she said.
To take on the task of sift-
ing through the data and tell-
ing the stories inside, Inves-
tigateWest teamed up with
the Pamplin Media Group
and the University of Ore-
gon’s Agora Journalism
Center.
Their joint project is
“Rattled: Oregon’s Con-
cussion Discussion.” You
can view more about it
here: www.invw.org/series/
rattledinoregon/
—
East
Oregonian
reporter Eric Singer con-
tributed to this story.
MOM: I can experience the poignant moments of my grandchildren’s lives
Continued from 1A
have receded somewhat.
Vague recollections of total
exhaustion remain, but now
happy, funny and touching
remembrances overshadow
the frustrating ones.
Last week, the repressed
memories rushed back
when I headed to Southern
California to meet my
10-day-old granddaughter.
To say my son, Jordan, and
daughter-in-law, Sara, had
their hands full is a gross
understatement.
Their new bundle of
joy, baby Phoebe, required
the usual holding, feeding
and diapering as she slept,
cooed, gurgled and cried.
Adding to the cacophony
was their toddler, Micah,
who had just entered the
terrible twos.
I helped as I could,
holding the baby, cooking,
reading to Micah and
making sure their
goldendoodle didn’t starve.
At times, however, I sat
back and just marveled at
motherhood in the trenches.
My daughter-in-law is
an intelligent woman, a
family practice doctor who
is nearing the end of her
residency. As a physician,
she handles marathon shifts
at the hospital, evaluating
patients and delivering
difficult diagnoses. Being a
mom takes equal focus.
When Phoebe arrived,
Sara took a break from
work to concentrate on the
baby and ease Micah into
his big brother role. Jordan,
a pediatrician, will take
time off when Sara returns
to work.
One day, around
dinnertime, Micah melted
down. Sara scooped up her
boy, kissed him, cajoled
him and soon had him
engrossed in a book. At
dinner, the terrible-two
monster inside Micah rose
up again and my adorable
grandson transformed into
the family tyrant, loudly
demanding different food
and to sit on his mom’s lap
instead of his highchair.
Sara and Jordan attempted
to do the impossible —
reason with a two year
old — before realizing the
futility and removing him
from the table.
The frenzied battle
launched me back in time.
I recalled the conflicting
emotions of motherhood.
Loving my child, yet
longing for a few minutes
of peace. Wanting to
experience every moment
and milestone, but yearning
for time with other adults.
Dreaming of a uncluttered
home and a clean
bathroom. Feeling as if I’d
fallen into a motherhood
version of “Groundhog
Day,” with each day a
carbon copy of the one
before.
And the exhaustion.
The total exhaustion of
nighttime feedings and
never quite reaching REM
sleep.
My own mother
shepherded five kids to
adulthood. She made it
look easy, but I know she
had times of frustration.
Motherhood is tenacity
mixed with tenderness,
grit and generosity and
moments of not knowing
what to do.
As a grandmother, I
know the progression. The
terrible twos leads to other
stages, all with their pitfalls
and delights. I would do it
again in a heartbeat.
As a well-rested
grandmother (or Neenee,
as Micah calls me),
I can experience the
poignant moments of
my grandchildren’s lives
without the exhaustion.
While their mom is coping
with battle fatigue, I am
free to feel unfiltered joy.
To all you young
mothers out there, hang in
there. Remember and savor
the moments. Sooner than
you think, your kids will
head out into the world.
Love will get you
through.
———
Kathy Aney writes about
health and human interest
for the East Oregonian.