Finally, Some Good News in a Bad Week
by: Kerith Gabriel, [email protected]
November 11, 2011
In a week which our pages have been riddled with distrubing news regarding teh Eagles' slump, the death of boxing legend Joe Frazier and the ongoing whirlwind from the alleged se-abuse scandal that has rocked State College, we thought it best to throw a little something inspiring your way.
This email landed our way late last month. It's the perfect remedy for what ails:
"My son Mark is a senior and one of the soccer team captains at Roman Catholic. In a match at Lansdale Catholic [on Oct. '11], he was upended while challenging for a head ball. He came down awkwardly on his neck and the view from the sidelines as he struggled to get up and then fell again to the ground was scary to say the least. He was carted off the field and sent to Children's Hospital. The obvious was that he had a concussion, not so obvious was the severity of his neck injury.
"Throughout the examinations, the docs were able to work around his uniform, still being worn proud. Even with the knowledge that his high school soccer career was basically coming to an abrupt end, the most remarkable thing happened. As the trauma team explained what tests he was going to go through, they told him they were going to have to cut his jersey off because they could not remove his neck collar or attempt to lift the jersey over him. For as scary as the situation was, he absolutely refused to have them cut his shirt off, he wouldn't even entertain the notion. With all the vocal strength he could muster, he told the trauma team in no uncertain terms that he was the team captain, and even if he was done for the year, he needed his jersey for game days.
"To our surprise, the radiologist came down and devised a game plan to leave his jersey intact. Apparently - with new digital [X-ray] technology, they could look through the jersey but the screened 'RC' on the front would have been picked up on the film! Anyway, the concussion did indeed do him in for the season and the neck sprain forced him to live with a collar for a few more days. But as the team prepared for the playoffs, their captain turned into a cheerleader as well. And yes, he wears his jersey - proudly." - Mark Casasanto, South Philadelphia
November 11, 2011
In a week which our pages have been riddled with distrubing news regarding teh Eagles' slump, the death of boxing legend Joe Frazier and the ongoing whirlwind from the alleged se-abuse scandal that has rocked State College, we thought it best to throw a little something inspiring your way.
This email landed our way late last month. It's the perfect remedy for what ails:
"My son Mark is a senior and one of the soccer team captains at Roman Catholic. In a match at Lansdale Catholic [on Oct. '11], he was upended while challenging for a head ball. He came down awkwardly on his neck and the view from the sidelines as he struggled to get up and then fell again to the ground was scary to say the least. He was carted off the field and sent to Children's Hospital. The obvious was that he had a concussion, not so obvious was the severity of his neck injury.
"Throughout the examinations, the docs were able to work around his uniform, still being worn proud. Even with the knowledge that his high school soccer career was basically coming to an abrupt end, the most remarkable thing happened. As the trauma team explained what tests he was going to go through, they told him they were going to have to cut his jersey off because they could not remove his neck collar or attempt to lift the jersey over him. For as scary as the situation was, he absolutely refused to have them cut his shirt off, he wouldn't even entertain the notion. With all the vocal strength he could muster, he told the trauma team in no uncertain terms that he was the team captain, and even if he was done for the year, he needed his jersey for game days.
"To our surprise, the radiologist came down and devised a game plan to leave his jersey intact. Apparently - with new digital [X-ray] technology, they could look through the jersey but the screened 'RC' on the front would have been picked up on the film! Anyway, the concussion did indeed do him in for the season and the neck sprain forced him to live with a collar for a few more days. But as the team prepared for the playoffs, their captain turned into a cheerleader as well. And yes, he wears his jersey - proudly." - Mark Casasanto, South Philadelphia
