Deirdre Newman
COSTA MESA -- A former Costa Mesa High School trainer said her early
suspicions are that symptoms displayed by a football player who died
after a Friday night game may have come from a concussion that had not
healed properly.
Though she doesn't know if Costa Mesa High football player Matt Colby
actually suffered a concussion before the game, Terry Ziegler, now a
trainer at Vanguard University, said if he did, it's possible the
fatality was a result of a phenomenon known as second-impact syndrome.
The syndrome occurs when an athlete sustains a concussion and then is
hit in the head before the concussion has completely healed, she said.
Newport-Mesa Unified School District officials confirmed that Colby
suffered from headaches after a Sept. 21 game.
Even if it's just a minor hit, the athlete can lose consciousness
within 15 seconds to a couple of minutes, followed by rapid deterioration
and respiratory failure, she said.
In Colby's case, his condition dramatically worsened quickly, his
coach, Dave Perkins, said, and he soon suffered respiratory failure.
District officials have launched an independent investigation into
Colby's death to ensure appropriate procedures were followed.
Alvarez and Associates in Alta Loma will investigate the medical
personnel, coaches and administration who were involved with Colby's
case.
The investigation is significant because it will examine whether the
high school senior should have been playing at all after complaining of
fatigue and headaches in two previous games. Colby was allegedly cleared
to play in the Sept. 30 game by a doctor, whose name has not been
released.
Colby displayed signs of fatigue after a Sept. 15 game but did not
complain about headaches until after the following week's game on Sept.
21, school officials said. The district is waiting for the investigation
to uncover whether Colby suffered a concussion in either of these games.
Connie Duddridge, the districts' risk-management director, said there
are multiple layers of procedures regarding athletic injuries set forth
by the district and medical professionals. In the case of concussions,
the district follows the advice of the athlete's doctor, Duddridge added.
"If the doctors say, for instance, 'no practice,' then we don't
practice. If the doctor says 'no practice for three days, then light
practice,' then we would do that," Duddridge said.
Athletic Director Kirk Bauermeister said Colby saw his doctor Sept. 24
and provided the trainer with a note clearing him to play.
