Parents Injury......need some opinions if I am overreacting.

[RileyG]

So my 13 yo dd had a freak accident at practice last week. Doing a skill she has done a million times. It resulted in her falling from about 5 feet in the air and landing on her back, with her neck/shoulder area hitting first, head hit the floor too.
This happened about 1 1/2 hr maybe 2 hr into a 3 1/2 hr practice. When i came in the gym at the end of practice, there was still about 30 min to go. After about 5-10 min another mom told me what happened. Of course my radar starts going up and another girl who coaches pre team was in the lobby and said my dd was fine, and "that happens to everyone". But everyone who saw the fall was very freaked out by it.
Her coach finally told me when she came out after practice. I got the story, and my dd said she was fine, she got right up after the fall, they assessed her for head injury, not neck.

When we left the gym i went thru the concussion questions and gave her a thorough neuro check and checked rom joints etc.
Im a nurse practitioner.
My feeling on this is that as her parent and as a medical professional i should have been called to come in and make the call whether to pull her or let her stay.
Yes my dd is old enough to know how she feels but we all know head injury can begin seeming like nothing.
She did develop a mild headache the next day.
I want to have a conversation with her coach and the head coach, mostly to educate them a little more on how to deal with these situations.

I dont want to be called for every bump and bruise, but the big things like a fall from 5 feet onto the neck/head, yes.
Thoughts.

 

[bogwoppit]

I agree the fall might happen to everyone, whatever that means. Gymnasts do fall. But for a head or neck bonk they should call the parents/guardian.

It may well be that they do not really get head/neck injury protocol. Worth a chat, especially as you are in a position to educate.

 

[gopuckgo]

I agree with you. I have seen a lot of coaches making medical decisions that should be made by a trained professional in the medical field. Did they know that you were an NP? I wasn't there so I cannot speak to your situation, but myself also being in the medical field too, I am shocked by what I have seen in the past. I have seen coaches attempt to tape injured ankles that clearly looked like nerve involvement in poor positions potentially causing more damage ( that was at a dance competition), elbow injuries from hyper extension not being checked and more. 99.9 percent of coaches are well trained and would never make medical decisions, but it does happen from time to time. Please step in and educate them. They are coaches and experts in gymnastics, not nurses, therapists or doctors.

 

[gymgal]

I would definitely have a conversation with the coach. Approach it from a medical profession POV.Maybe even provide written info for them or a mini workshop if you feel comfortable doing that.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

So my 13 yo dd had a freak accident at practice last week. Doing a skill she has done a million times. It resulted in her falling from about 5 feet in the air and landing on her back, with her neck/shoulder area hitting first, head hit the floor too.
This happened about 1 1/2 hr maybe 2 hr into a 3 1/2 hr practice. When i came in the gym at the end of practice, there was still about 30 min to go. After about 5-10 min another mom told me what happened. Of course my radar starts going up and another girl who coaches pre team was in the lobby and said my dd was fine, and "that happens to everyone". But everyone who saw the fall was very freaked out by it.
Her coach finally told me when she came out after practice. I got the story, and my dd said she was fine, she got right up after the fall, they assessed her for head injury, not neck.

When we left the gym i went thru the concussion questions and gave her a thorough neuro check and checked rom joints etc.
Im a nurse practitioner.
My feeling on this is that as her parent and as a medical professional i should have been called to come in and make the call whether to pull her or let her stay.
Yes my dd is old enough to know how she feels but we all know head injury can begin seeming like nothing.
She did develop a mild headache the next day.
I want to have a conversation with her coach and the head coach, mostly to educate them a little more on how to deal with these situations.

I dont want to be called for every bump and bruise, but the big things like a fall from 5 feet onto the neck/head, yes.
Thoughts.

i have posted this here before. Ped's can go south in a blink of an eye in the absence of no outward/visible injury.

i know stories....you don't mess around with head/neck trauma.

and about 5 feet up? 13? maybe 100 lbs? maybe 6 times her body mass if she fell doing something simple. Mmmm...600lbs of force transferred to the head and neck. think about it everyone. the mats do their jobs...diminish force. but the brain, and optic nerves, and occipital lobes, duras, etc;

it's not what you see outward...it's what happens inside the skull that matters.

 

[rjb123]

I strongly believe that you never mess around with head, neck stuff. Especially in kids because they can crash quickly and without warning. I did neuro for years (as a nurse) and there is some scary stuff that can happen. FWIW, DS is a swimmer and one of his good friends hit (very slightly) her head in a meet while racing backstroke. She had a HORRIBLE concussion that took her out of all activity, reading, tv, etc etc etc for almost six months. Literally she would be standing with feet shoulder width apart and you could touch her with a finger and she would fall over. It is a good reminder that it doesn't even have to be a HARD hit, just a hit in the right place/position to do it.

 

[shelovestoflip]

They should have called you. I would def talk to them. She fell 5 feet. That's far!! Did they even offer her ice?? My daughter's gym always does ice for the little things...calls for the big stuff. I'd be concerned if no call.

How old is your daughter?? What skill was she doing?

 

[RileyG]

I agree with you. I have seen a lot of coaches making medical decisions that should be made by a trained professional in the medical field. Did they know that you were an NP? I wasn't there so I cannot speak to your situation, but myself also being in the medical field too, I am shocked by what I have seen in the past. I have seen coaches attempt to tape injured ankles that clearly looked like nerve involvement in poor positions potentially causing more damage ( that was at a dance competition), elbow injuries from hyper extension not being checked and more. 99.9 percent of coaches are well trained and would never make medical decisions, but it does happen from time to time. Please step in and educate them. They are coaches and experts in gymnastics, not nurses, therapists or doctors.

Yes i am pretty sure the coach knows i am an NP.

 

[RileyG]

i have posted this here before. Ped's can go south in a blink of an eye in the absence of no outward/visible injury.

i know stories....you don't mess around with head/neck trauma.

and about 5 feet up? 13? maybe 100 lbs? maybe 6 times her body mass if she fell doing something simple. Mmmm...600lbs of force transferred to the head and neck. think about it everyone. the mats do their jobs...diminish force. but the brain, and optic nerves, and occipital lobes, duras, etc;

it's not what you see outward...it's what happens inside the skull that matters.

Agree with all of this and its why I feel i need to speak with them. I am going to send an email and cc the head coach.

 

[RileyG]

They should have called you. I would def talk to them. She fell 5 feet. That's far!! Did they even offer her ice?? My daughter's gym always does ice for the little things...calls for the big stuff. I'd be concerned if no call.

How old is your daughter?? What skill was she doing?

She is 13. She was doing something she has done a million times.....round off back handspring back tuck. She doesnt even know what happened, she just said she didnt get the whole way around and fell.

 

[RileyG]

I am going to be talking to the coaches on Monday. My dd told me when she fell neither coach came over to her. She said she was on the floor for a few seconds then got up and she went over to the coach, who then asked her questions related to concussion. This just is really making me more upset the more i think about it. The immediate response should have been the coach going over immediately and telling her to stay put til the situation was assessed.

 

[gymgal]

did the coaches see it? If it is something she is competent doing, they may not have been looking or realized how she landed. And given that she got herself up and walked over to them they probably didn't think it could have been too serious.

Don't get me wrong - if I'm the parent, I am still talking to the hc about it to make sure proper protocols are in place for any fall that involves head/neck/spine. But I wonder if their reaction was different based on if they did or didn't actually see it. I know you mentioned that the parents thought it was pretty serious but I know sometimes when I see something from the stands that looks serious, it really isn't as bad to the gymnast/coach.

 

[RileyG]

yes the coaches both saw it. they said they did. and they were freaked out by it according to them, they said it "looked really bad" this is what they told me at the end of practice.
They knew and saw exactly what happened. which is what makes it all worse to me.

 

[gymgal]

yes the coaches both saw it. they said they did. and they were freaked out by it according to them, they said it "looked really bad" this is what they told me at the end of practice.
They knew and saw exactly what happened. which is what makes it all worse to me.

then definitely no excuse for their caviler response.

 

[Seeker]

then definitely no excuse for their caviler response.

Yeah, this is not good and I would feel the same way you do. My daughter had a pretty severe allergic reaction to something when she was in pre-school (like huge swollen lips/face and large welty hives). I arrive to pick her up and realize that this happened mid afternoon and no one called me. Needless to say, she didn't go there much longer. The director was angry, but the teachers did nothing. Her face was so swollen she was barely recognizable and it didn't occur to them to call me?

I see this as the same type of scenario -- there is no excuse that they didn't call you. Just erodes the trust that you have with them when this kind of stuff happens.

 

[raenndrops]

She is 13. She was doing something she has done a million times.....round off back handspring back tuck. She doesnt even know what happened, she just said she didnt get the whole way around and fell.

My OG did this when she was 10 in old L6... warming up at a meet! She was fully assessed immediately and cleared to compete - IF she wanted. She chose to compete... left out the Back Tuck (did a 2nd BHS instead) and still got her best floor score ever... they assessed her again before vault warm ups... and before she competed her first vault... and coach did a mini assessment between vaults... and again before bars warm ups... and before she competed bars (had her leave out her flyaway)... and before beam warm ups... and before she competed beam (where she had a personal best)... and again after beam.
We had to stick around for her little sister's session, and HC came and checked on her 3 times during the 2nd session (we were sitting near vault, bars, and floor - just not near beam because that was across the room). During the last session, she checked on her again and even had the EMT that was there check her over one last time. LUCKILY, she was fine, but we DID appreciate the constant monitoring

 

[gymdog]

yes the coaches both saw it. they said they did. and they were freaked out by it according to them, they said it "looked really bad" this is what they told me at the end of practice.
They knew and saw exactly what happened. which is what makes it all worse to me.

This doesn't sound like they were being cavalier. Maybe they were shocked for a few moments and she got up before they could walk over.

After that they probably made the wrong judgment call but I would give them a chance to talk before you get worked up.

 

[Momofthree]

In my opinion, you are not overreacting. My daughter was struck in the head by a coach who was spotting her on vault and then hit he back of her head when she landed. She laid on the mat for a while after until finally the coach came to check on her.
The coaches did not do a proper head injury assessment and sent her back to practice. They never called us, they didn't tell us after practice, nothing. After She was diagnosed with a concussion, I emailed the gym to express that the situation was handled poorly. They never responded.
My daughter missed her entire season due to concussion. She has post concussion syndrome still months later and we have no idea when she will recover or if she will ever do gymnastics, or any other sport, again. The gym's response? Not so much as a get well card or a phone call. But they charge us monthly and refused to refund the meet fees so I guess they assume she is still alive despite the fact that they pretend she doesn't exist.
So you can give you gym an opportunity to explain. But don't be surprised if they won't discuss it. My child's gym is much more concerned about pretending the incident never happened and avoiding liability than they are about my gymnast's health and welfare. Needless to say, my gymnast had learned some very difficult lessons.

 

[happychaos]

My kid's pediatrician told me that told me that in the case of (suspected) head injury, they only want to evaluate the child if the child was "stunned" immediately after the injury. Meaning in the case of a baby they don't cry right away (like 5 seconds) or in an older child if they don't get right back up, etc. She said they do NOT need to see kids who cry immediately after the injury, hop right back up, etc. She said that if the child looks and acts fine after the injury, they will not do a work-up anyway.

Just because the child looks and acts fine doesn't for sure mean there is no injury, but the Dr. said that the only thing they will do in these cases is have the parents watch for signs of brain injury over the next few days anyway, so there is no need to examine them.

I learned this lesson the heard way when at 10 months old my DS fell down an entire flight of stairs. Made a loud thunking noise as he hit every single step. I was very panicked and rushed him to the ER. The only thing the ER Dr. was really interested in was how DS reacted to the fall. When I told the Dr. that DS started shrieking right away, he said he didn't need to do any other tests, and I should go home and just watch for signs of brain injury. That was an expensive lesson.....

 

[BlairBob]

Hard to say. In my experience, if a kid has such a fall and doesn't get right back up anytime soon, we generally call the parents and/or ambulance. I'm thinking of when Alexandra landed the 2nd front salto of a front-front short and it was a very freaky situation as her younger sister was also training at the same time. She narrowly missed her head, landing on the back of her neck. She was alright but I do believe she had a sprained neck for awhile.