USC trainer saves life of high-schooler, but many teams lack certified help
By ANDREW SHAIN -
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USC sports medicine graduate assistant Caleb Lott is a big hero as far as Mid-Carolina High School football player Brennen Barber and his family are concerned. Lott, working an internship at Mid-Carolina High in Newberry, noticed that something was wrong with Barber during a football scrimmage. He was rushed to a Columbia hospital with a brain hemmorage and underwent surgery.
Without Caleb Lott, a routine hit to Brennen Barber’s helmet during a scrimmage two weeks ago could have killed the high-school defensive lineman.
Lott, who was working at Barber’s Newberry County school as part of the University of South Carolina’s graduate athletics training program, recognized the 17-year-old had suffered a head injury worse than a concussion.
“He started bleeding to death when the hit happened,” said Jim Mensch, director of USC’s athletics training program.
After an operation at Palmetto Health Richland, the senior is expected to make a full recovery.
Barber was lucky to have a trainer nearby. The state does not require athletics trainers at high schools, and Jerome Singleton, commissioner of the S.C. High School League, said he is unaware of any school district that requires teams have trainers.
Mensch estimates that just three out of 10 S.C. high schools employ full-time athletics trainers who attend practices and games. Another three in 10 schools have part-time trainers who typically come only to games even though most injuries occur at practice, he said.
The remainder of schools rely on coaches to act as athletics trainers — a conflict since they have to decide to take an injured player off the field who might help the team win, Mensch said. The state high school league has new rules allowing officials to send a player with concussion symptoms to the sideline. A health-care professional or certified trainer must check the player to determine if he can return to the field.
A resolution to create a state foundation to raise money so more high and middle schools could hire certified athletics trainers won approval from lawmakers in 2010 but did not get enough votes to override a veto by then-Gov. Mark Sanford. A new bill could be filed next year.
“It makes so much sense to protect schools from liability — and for parents’ peace of mind,” Mensch said.
Barber’s hit
Lott is part of USC’s graduate athletics training program, which includes 27 students who spend time with high school and college teams. Students are working at several Richland and Lexington county high schools, Benedict College and S.C. State University. Students also work with the USC marching band and Columbia City Ballet.
Students receive about half the pay of a full-time athletics trainer, which makes them an affordable option, said Dr. Jeffrey Guy, USC athletics medical director.
Lott, 24, worked with the Gamecock football team last year before being assigned to Mid-Carolina High School in Prosperity this season. The Lenoir, N.C., native takes classes in Columbia during the day and drives 35 miles in the afternoon to attend Rebel football practices.
After weeks of helping players deal with record summer heat in practices, Lott began tending small injuries as Mid-Carolina played Ninety Six High School in a scrimmage Aug. 5. Late in the scrimmage, Barber was struck in the head by a blocker while going after a fumble. Though stung by the hit, he stayed on the field for two more plays until he felt too dizzy to go on.
Barber walked over to the sideline, took to a knee and drank a cup of water. “The way I was feeling, I knew there’s no way I’m going back in, but then I couldn’t stand straight,” he said.
As the pain in his head worsened, Barber fell to both knees and then leaned forward. He asked a teammate to get the trainer. While being propped up by a coach, Barber collapsed onto the training table. “I don’t know anything after that,” he said.
Barbara Barber knew his situation was serious when Lott started cutting away her son’s jersey and shoulder pads. Barber had played football since the seventh grade, while his brother, Erik, had starred at Mid-Carolina before playing at Newberry College. Between Barbara Barber’s boys, the worst injury was a knee bruise that kept Erik out of practice for a week in high school.
“I never worried about them,” she said.
‘Cannot lose my son’
Now Brennen Barber’s condition was deteriorating. His slurred his speech more, his pupils were unresponsive and he stopped following Lott’s verbal commands. But he did not lose consciousness and responded to the trainer’s touch. Lott recalled from his classes at USC’s Blatt Physical Education Center that those symptoms suggested Barber had suffered a severe head injury.
“It was a life-threatening situation,” he said.
Lott asked Barber’s parents to call 911, while he made arrangements to have him taken to Palmetto Health Richland, where USC treats head-trauma patients.
At the hospital, some 75 relatives and friends gathered around the Barbers as surgeons relieved the bleeding inside Barber’s head caused by a subdural hematoma.
“I kept thinking, ‘I cannot lose my son,’ ” Barbara Barber said.
After three hours of surgery, doctors said Barber had done well. He made a swift recovery at first. He walked briefly three days after surgery and his memory was good. He came home less than a week after the scrimmage, where his favorite meal awaited — meatballs and mashed potatoes.
But he won’t play football again. “I’ve come to terms with it,” he said. “It could have been worse.”
Barber has not been cleared to return to school. He has headaches and needs to build stamina to walk for more than a few minutes. He also could need speech, physical and memory therapy. After high school, he plans to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering at USC.
Lott helped the family while Barber was in the hospital by acting as a liaison with doctors and answering the high schooler’s questions about what happened to him. “He’s become one of my children,” Barbara Barber said.
Teammates cheered Thursday when Barber returned to Mid-Carolina’s Lon Armstrong Field for the first time since the scrimmage. He received hugs and high fives, while several teammates said they planned to shave their heads in his honor since Barber’s hair was cut for the surgery. His mother called the half-hour visit “the best medicine he could have had.”
“I don’t remember leaving the field, so it felt like I was walking out there for a second time in a row,” Barber said. “It was overwhelming ... that I’m just able to stand with them and still be part of everything.”
He hopes doctors will allow him to stand on the sidelines for Mid-Carolina’s season-opening game next Frday. Barber plans to wear his No. 79 jersey.
“I’ll be yelling for them,” he said, “as long as it doesn’t make my head hurt.”
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