Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada Committee on Nov. 28th, 2018

[Robert Kitchen]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Matthew, I'm impressed as heck by you, a 13-year-old boy who's this confident and open. I thank you very much for being here. You impress me tremendously.

We talked a bit about the respect for sport. My thought is that, okay, we've done a lot of things in hockey. We've put in trainers, which we never used to have. Before the season starts, we now have a meeting with all the parents, teaching them about respect for the sport and that aspect.

What about the kids? What about the players? Let's say I as an adult went to a team of 10-year-old or 13-year-old boys—or girls, for that matter—and said, “This what you have to do: Respect the sport and respect your opponent.” I would walk out of that room knowing that they would forget it the moment I left.

What about having it be someone like you? Would it be beneficial to have an ambassador, someone similar to you, who went around the country speaking to these young hockey players so that they could understand the need for that respect for the game?

[Matthew Chiarotto]

I think it does help when it's one of your peers who pushes the message. I think someone their own age talking about how it's important to respect your sport would be beneficial for them. They'd understand more, because they'd see someone their own age talking about that.

I think it would be a really great idea to have someone like that go in and talk to people.

[Robert Kitchen]

I'd be happy to tag team with you and do that.

[Matthew Chiarotto]

Thank you.

[The Chair]

Thank you, Matthew.

To conclude, our last question will be from Dr. Eyolfson.

[Doug Eyolfson]

Thank you.

Ash, I believe it was you that mentioned that there was a concussion protocol when you were injured. Was that right? Could you describe what they did and what their protocol was at the time of that injury? What did they look for and what was their decision, based on that?

[Ash Kolstad]

With the first concussion, we followed the protocol. It was strict rest until the symptoms went away and then you start a gradual return to sports activity. I believe that the first step was walking for half an hour. The second step was walking for two minutes, running for one minute. Step three was wind sprints for 15 minutes, which was fun. Step four was the return to sport, without physical contact, and then step five was the full return to sport. If you have a symptom provoked at any of the steps, then you have to stop, wait 24 hours and then start at step one again.

[Doug Eyolfson]

Okay. Thank you. That's very useful. We know they're out there and we've heard reports that there are various levels of compliance with that.

Matthew or Kathy, at the time you were playing, do you know whether there was an organized protocol that the teams followed in case of concussion?

[Kathy Leeder]

Yes. That's the thing that the partnership with Holland Bloorview and the GTHL had worked through. It was certainly educating parents, kids and coaches about what to look for. If you had even one symptom, then it was, “When in doubt, sit it out”.

Then you work with your family physician to have a referral to Holland Bloorview. They work with you on understanding what your symptoms may or may not be and then what you can do to improve upon that.

From there, you would get baseline tested, once you were feeling much better, and you could get signed back to return. If not, they have a residual concussion symptom program. You could get stuff from the Internet—not the Internet, but online is what I meant—so that you didn't have to go, because a lot of kids would feel.... I know Matthew did. He couldn't ride in a car and going for appointments was very difficult, so they were very accommodating that way. Then working with a coach and the resources at the hospital, they would get the person to return to all the things they liked to do, whether it was school, sport or just their daily living activities.

[Doug Eyolfson]

Carter and Anne, could you add to that? At the time of the injuries, did the team have an organized concussion protocol and was it followed?

[Anne Phair]

Yes. In both leagues they did, but Carter will be able to speak a lot better on what the protocol was.

[Carter Phair]

Yes. In the WHL, they would keep me away from everything until I started to feel better. Then they'd slowly reintroduce me to different things. As far as when the concussion was sustained, a lot of the time it was just never in doubt that I was done for the game or for however long after.

[Doug Eyolfson]

All right. Thank you very much.

[The Chair]

Thank you to all of our witnesses.

On behalf of the subcommittee on sport-related concussions, we want to thank you. You have been excellent witnesses. Your testimony and your answers have all been put on the record. I know there's been overwhelming interest and support for this committee and what we are able to do here, in terms of being able to make our playing fields that much safer.

On that, I know that many of you have talked about the network, the journey that you've gone through, and many of the stakeholders you've been able to work with. Many of them may be watching now, and those who are viewing our hearings can go to www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/SCSC and make a submission of up to 2,500 words. That is an opportunity for many of those who will not have the opportunity to be here in front of us as witnesses to provide their submissions and their recommendations to this committee.

Again, on behalf of the committee, thank you to all the witnesses for sharing your very personal and compelling stories.

That concludes our hearing. The meeting is adjourned.