Thanks.
I'm not 100% sure about when the very first one occurred, but I know that over the last three years, my son Carter has been diagnosed with a concussion no fewer than six times, all while playing junior hockey. His symptoms have been varied, some short-lived, some longer lasting, some mild and some severe. All of them worrisome for his father and me.
Perhaps the most worrisome are the ones that were not diagnosed by a doctor or a trainer. I have no idea how many that could be, but looking back I know there were signs. The word “concussion” simply never came to mind. That is why I'm honoured to be a witness at your committee on concussions in sports. I hope to encourage our federal government to pass legislation similar to Rowan's Law, which was recently passed in Ontario.
In reading about Rowan's Law and how it came about, I learned that Rowan Stringer had suspected that she had sustained a concussion prior to the game that ended her life. She had in fact read about concussions online shortly before her death. My son is a goalie and moved away from home to play hockey during his 15th year. For much of the next two seasons, he complained about headaches, but to me, that was all they were: headaches.
We had always tried to buy him the best equipment, mask included. His was top of the line with an NHL-grade sticker on it and it cost a $1,000. I believed he was protected. After all, it cost a $1,000. But the complaints kept coming. He would take a shot off the mask in practice and get a headache. We were not aware enough to put two and two together. Other players on his team were diagnosed with concussions and would have to sit out a couple of days or weeks. Never Carter. He was the goalie and the best protected. How could he get hurt?
In the fall of 2015, as a 17-year-old, Carter was playing with the Edmonton Oil Kings in an exhibition game. He'd been given a mask painted in team colours to use that night. I sent a picture of it to you. He wasn't allowed to practise in it. He couldn't see so he had to flip it up. He's a quiet kid, so rather than say something to a team official, he simply pushed it up on his head a bit in order to see through the bars.
Soon after coming into the game, he was hit in the mask with a shot. He had a headache after the game, but thinking that if he reported his headache he'd be cut and sent back to his Junior A team, he didn't say anything to the trainer. Later in the week, he was using his own mask at practice and was hit in the mask again. The next thing he remembers was coming to on the bench. This would be his first diagnosed concussion.
For the rest of that season, he played without incident with the same model mask he had used since he was 14. In the fall, as an 18-year-old, he was practising with Kamloops Blazers on a road trip. A puck struck him in the head and he was diagnosed with his second concussion. He then had to endure three days of bus travel, which made his symptoms worse. This time, the trainer looked at his mask and told him he should not have been using it at a level higher than Bantam. I was sick. My job as a mother is to protect my children and I didn't know enough about goalie masks to make sure he was wearing one that would do the job. I believed that the $1,000 price tag was evidence that this helmet would be adequate. Not true.
When Carter was cleared to play again, the word was out: Hit him in the head and he'll miss a couple of weeks. That happened three times before the end of the year, and opponents were suspended by the league for three, seven, and eight games in separate incidents. Keep in mind, you don't get suspended for hitting a goalie in the mask with a puck, but you do get suspended for body-checking his head into his posts, recklessly body-checking him after he deflects your shot to the corner, or for skating full speed from your own blue line and putting your knee into the side of his head after he's covered the puck.
After the last of those three, it was almost four months before he could work out again. He required reading glasses as he had lost some of his vision. He had headaches every day, poor concentration, sleeplessness, and he was unable to do many of the activities he loved, like golf.
Carter was stubborn and determined, though. He talked us into letting him play again. After a stellar start as a 19-year-old and winning goalie-of-the-month honours, he was playing in a game against the same team that had ended his previous season. Less than two months into the schedule, a second consecutive season ended with a knee to the head. This time, there were two suspensions, six games for the player and three for the coach, who, according to one of his former players, had a “hit list” of players upon whom he encouraged his team to take extra liberties.
Do not think for a second that we don't understand and accept that concussions are a part of contact sports such as hockey. They are going to happen. My biggest issue is that there are so many people who know so little about concussions and who in turn have at times seemed to encourage a lack respect for the health of the opposing athletes. These players—and sometimes their coaches—are willing to cause concussions intentionally in order to gain an advantage for their team.
Therefore, it is my opinion that anyone who coaches a sport where violent collisions occur should have as a minimum mandatory part of their coaching training an in-depth tutorial, taken repeatedly as new information becomes available. That tutorial needs to include recognition, prevention, treatment and possible future effects of concussions. This is a topic that must not be glossed over. Concussions need to be made as ugly as possible so that coaches will instill in their players respect for their opponents' health.
This brings me to my next point: respect for opponents. Too many times in an arena I hear bigger cheers for bodychecks than I hear for pretty goals or great saves. What message does a young player receive when highlight packages on TV show hits that cause injuries? The message is that if you can't get noticed for your skill, you can still get noticed if you cause some damage. This makes it extremely important for coaches to put a tremendous emphasis on skills development and team play, while holding accountable players who look to take advantage of those who may be smaller or in a vulnerable position. The coach's message needs to override the big cheers and TV highlights.
Failing that, teams need to hold their coaches responsible for their players' actions. While leagues do hand out suspensions, they're not seen as a deterrent. They need to make stricter rules to hold those players and coaches accountable. I think they need to include suspensions or fines to the team, the coach and the player when these serious safety rules are violated. The penalties must be stiff enough to bring about an actual change. The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League handed out suspensions, but it wasn't enough to change the behaviour, as Carter received four diagnosed concussions from illegal hits in five months of play despite the suspensions handed out.
Finally, there needs to be an equipment standard that is known to buyers and checked by team officials. As parents, we go to the store and get recommendations from salesmen. We have to trust their educated or uneducated advice. There needs to be a comprehensive list of safety requirements for helmets that's readily available at stores and with the team trainers at all levels, especially at levels where collisions become more violent due to size, strength and speed. Also, helmets should be inspected for safety before an athlete is allowed to play.
In Carter's situation, the Edmonton Oil Kings, who have a paid trainer and equipment manager, should have told us about his inadequate helmet when he was drafted at the age of 14. Not only did they fail to inspect his helmet, but they gave him an improperly fitting helmet to wear during games. Money—ahead of safety—seems to be a key factor in decision-making. We trusted that the clubs Carter played with knew better. Had we known that his helmet was unfit for the level at which he was playing, we would have gladly spent the money to keep him safe.
While it would be preferable that there were no concussions, the fact is that there are. Carter finally received some meaningful treatment of his symptoms by visiting a clinic almost 2,000 kilometres away in Burnaby, B.C. Dr. Sigalet was able to identify a spot in Carter's neck that was not healing despite his being cleared to play by concussion protocol. Following his treatment, Carter regained his eyesight, he no longer has headaches, his grades in university have increased by 10%, he sleeps better and he's been able to resume most activities.
Canada has a lack of doctors trained in concussions. We were only able to locate five and had to travel to the Vancouver area or Toronto to get the treatment. With the research that is coming out daily on concussions, we need more specialized practitioners across the country. It is impossible for a general practitioner to keep up with the data, and Carter is proof that there is help if you know where to find it.
In closing, I'd like to thank you again for this opportunity. I truly believed that my son was going to accomplish big dreams in hockey, but now that he cannot continue for his own safety, I believe his story can make a difference in the lives of future hockey stars.
I'm so grateful that my son didn't have to die, like Rowan, to be able to tell his story and make a difference in the lives of others.
