05:40 PM CDT on Sunday, June 20, 2004
Trenell Walker sits in his wheelchair and stares at the television,
viewing the last time he used his arms and legs.
A videotape shows a play from Sherman's 1995 game against Wichita Falls
Hirschi. Walker, having seen it hundreds of times, watches without so
much as a grimace.It shows Walker, then a freshman already starting on
the varsity, blitz from his strong safety position to stuff a sweep. The
Hirschi running back reverses field as soon as he receives the pitch,
trying to avoid a loss. Walker makes a textbook tackle from behind,
hitting the running back, wrapping up and driving him toward the ground.
Spinal
cord injuries (.pdf)
Then a Sherman defensive lineman races into the picture and launches
himself at the falling running back. He misses, striking Walker on the
crown of the helmet and crushing the fourth vertebra in his neck.
"It only took a tenth of a second for my injury to happen," said Walker,
who is paralyzed below the neck. "If my head was a little up or a little
down, it wouldn't have happened. It was lined up just right."
Spinal cord injuries don't happen often in high school football, less
than one for every 100,000 players, according to the National Center for
Catastrophic Sport Injury. But coaches and parents live with the fear
that it could happen to one of their players or sons. Experts say that
football players are at risk because of the violent nature of the sport
and the fragile nature of the spinal cord, especially in the neck.
Walker is one of at least eight area players who have suffered broken
necks or spinal cord injuries in the last decade. The most recent was
Carrollton R.L. Turner junior Nat Little, who suffered a fractured C-5
vertebra and bruised spinal cord in Turner's spring game May 21.
Coaches teach players to tackle with their heads up in an attempt to
prevent paralyzing injuries. The majority of catastrophic football
injuries occur while tackling, according to the NCCSI. But some are
simply unfortunate flukes.
"That's always been on my mind as a coach," said Turner coach Jody
Allen, who witnessed an opponent break his neck as a high school senior
in 1980. The player died three days later. "That's our biggest
nightmare. A long time ago, I wondered if this game was worth playing."
Little, a linebacker, was injured when he fell awkwardly after
attempting to make a tackle. He flipped over fullback Marcus Robinson
and landed headfirst on the synthetic grass at Standridge Stadium. He
has had some movement of his left arm since but none in his other
extremities.
His mother, Nita, saw her son go down but frantically scanned the field
for his jersey number, hoping she was mistaken. She sprinted onto the
field and remembers her heart sinking when she heard that Nat needed to
be transported via helicopter to the hospital.
"I probably would have fainted if they said he broke his leg," said
Nita, who describes herself as a protective mother who hoped her son
wouldn't play football. "I never in my worst thoughts imagined something
like this could happen. That's why it was so devastating."
Little said he has no regrets. He understood that injuries – even
serious ones – are part of football.
"I knew it was a possibility," said Little, who celebrated his 17th
birthday Tuesday at the Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation. "You know,
I didn't care."
Little holds out hope that he will be able to walk again, despite
doctors' doubts. He had a breakthrough when he was able to move his left
arm during rehabilitation exercises on his birthday.
"Every day, I'm making progress," he said. "My muscles are getting
stronger. ... Today my left arm, tomorrow my right arm and then my legs."
Dr. Leslie Porter, a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician at
the Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation, said only a small percentage of
spinal cord injury patients recover to the point of being able to walk
again.
The spinal cord is the communicating link between the brain and the rest
of the body. An injury to the spinal cord impairs neurological function
to the parts at and below the injury.
The spinal cord has two layers of protection. Vertebrae, disks and
ligaments form a bony armor called the spinal column. A tough, flexible
substance called the dura mater encases the spinal cord.
But the spinal cord, which is about as wide as a pinky finger, is
extremely fragile. Porter compares it to a piece of pasta.
There area few recent examples of area high school players recovering
from spinal cord injuries.
Woodrow Wilson-ex Robert Zavala beat the longest odds. Zavala suffered
an injury similar to Little's when his head struck an opposing running
back's knee in a 1998 junior varsity game. Zavala, who recalls feeling
like he made a significant breakthrough when he was able to scratch an
itch, walked again after three months of rehabilitation.
Forney defensive back Brandon Cluiss and Arlington Lamar defensive back
Drew Biery suffered bruised spinal cords and temporary paralysis during
the 2002 season. Both made full recoveries but were not cleared by
doctors to play football again.
"There's going to be ups and downs, maybe more downs than ups," Zavala
said of the rehabilitation process. "But don't give up."
The C-5 and C-6 vertebrae are the most susceptible to injury, Porter
said. That is the largest section of the cervical cord and the smallest
section of the canal. It is where the neck bends.
Former Everman defensive back Corey Fulbright suffered a fractured C-5
vertebra in the 2002 Class 3A Division I title game. He has since
regained some use of his arms, his mother said.
Dr. Craig Callewart, a North Texas Spine Care surgeon, said most players
who suffer spinal cord injuries have some type of predisposed condition.
The most common are narrowing of the spinal column and sharp curves in
the spinal column.
Callewart said there is no cost-effective method to screen athletes for
such conditions. CT scans cost more than $300, he said.
Some athletes at risk for spinal cord injuries are identified by free
scoliosis exams performed at schools, Callewart said. He said another
possible warning sign for football players is repeated stingers, the
pinching or stretching of nerves that causes temporary numbness,
tingling and weakness down the arm.
Kent Waldrep, who suffered a broken neck as a TCU running back in 1974
and has since been searching for ways to prevent and cure paralysis,
said today's helmets are shorter in the back. As a result, they don't
compress into the back of the neck upon impact.
Callewart said the most significant improvement to helmets is that they
can be removed from an injured player's head without having to flex the
neck. Previously, spinal cord injuries were sometimes worsened during
the initial treatment, he said.
Callewart and Waldrep agreed that neck rolls help prevent lesser
injuries such as stingers but don't help reduce spinal cord injuries.
Waldrep, who was injured when his head was driven into artificial turf,
said he thinks the new synthetic grass is significantly safer. But
Little's injury occurred on such a surface.
Unfortunately, Waldrep said, spinal cord injuries will probably always
be part of football.
"We just have simple physics working against us," said Waldrep, who has
a son in eighth grade who plays football. "It's not a contact sport;
it's a collision sport. You can't collide bigger, stronger and faster
athletes and not expect something tragic to happen."
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A look at some of the area high school football players who suffered
serious neck or spinal cord injuries in the last decade:
Nat Little, Carrollton R.L. Turner, LB: Fractured his C-5
vertebra and bruised his spinal cord when he landed awkwardly on his
head after flipping over a teammate during Turner's May 21 spring game.
He has not had significant movement of his extremities since the injury.
He underwent an operation May 24 to stabilize the neck and has been
breathing without a ventilator since.
Anthony Lynn, Arlington Bowie, DB: Fractured his C-1 vertebra
after being hit in the back, falling headfirst into an opponent's chest
and landing awkwardly on his head in the 2003 season opener. He did not
suffer paralysis and had full range of motion after undergoing surgery
four days later. He sprinted for the Bowie track team in the spring.
Corey Fulbright, Everman, DB: Fractured his C-5 vertebra and
damaged his spinal cord during the 2002 Class 3A Division I title game.
He has quadriplegia but has regained some use of his arms. His mother
said Fulbright is able to use a remote control with the help of splints.
He is attending acting school and continuing his rehabilitation.
Drew Biery, Arlington Lamar, DB: Bruised his spinal cord and lost
feeling in his extremities when he landed on his head after attempting
to block an extra point in a November 2002 playoff game. He regained
feeling in his legs three days later and made a full recovery. He took
doctors' advice and did not play football last season but is being
recruited by several colleges as a baseball player.
Brandon Cluiss, Forney, DB: Broke his collarbone and bruised his
spinal cord during practice in September 2002. He regained feeling in
his arms and legs by the time he arrived at the hospital but could not
move them. He walked out of a rehabilitation center a month later. He
made a full recovery but had to quit football after being diagnosed with
narrowing of the spinal cord.
Robert Zavala, Woodrow Wilson, DB: Fractured his C-5 vertebra and
damaged his spinal cord when his head hit a running back's knee in a
1998 junior varsity game. Doctors told him he had less than a 1 percent
chance of walking again. He was walking after three months of
rehabilitation and has made a full recovery. He is majoring in
rehabilitation studies at North Texas.
Hani Tanbouz, Mansfield, DT: Tore ligaments and dislocated two
disks in his neck during a tackle drill in a 1996 spring practice. He
made a full recovery but begrudgingly accepted doctors' advice not to
play football. He was murdered in 1998.
Trenell Walker, Sherman, DB: Suffered a fractured C-4 vertebra
and damaged his spinal cord when hit on the top of the head by a
teammate while making a tackle in a 1995 game. He has quadriplegia but
has regained sensation in his upper body. He is majoring in
rehabilitation studies at North Texas.
Nita Little said her family will need financial assistance to
accommodate her son, Nat, when he is released from the Baylor Institute
for Rehabilitation. Donations can be sent to: Nathaniel Little
Assistance Fund, P.O. Box 631598, Irving, Texas, 75063.
Spinal cord injuries, with rate per 100,000, to high school football
players in the U.S. in the last 20 years:
Year
No.
Rate
Year
No.
Rate
1984
5
0.38
1994
1
0.07
1985
6
0.46
1995
8
0.47
1986
4
0.31
1996
6
0.40
1987
9
0.69
1997
7
0.47
1988
10
0.77
1998
4
0.27
1989
12
0.80
1999
7
0.40
1990
11
0.73
2000
6
0.40
1991
1
0.07
2001
8
0.53
1992
6
0.40
2002
5
0.33
1993
8
0.53
2003
7
0.47
Source: Natl. Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury