| The following story appeared first on Good Morning America May 22, 2002 |
Seven-year-old Nader Parman II was playing baseball in his own front yard in Marietta, Ga., when a baseball struck him in the chest at just the wrong moment, killing him.The ball hit Nader in the area right above his heart, at exactly the right millisecond to cause a fatal abnormal heart rhythm and trigger cardiac arrest. The injury is rare, but not unheard of. Doctors see as many as two dozen cases like Nader's each year, in which the victim has a healthy heart.
The batted ball caused Nader to have what's medically known as commotio cordis — a syndrome that results from a blunt impact to the chest which leads to cardiac arrest.
Some commotio cordis deaths have been caused by a blow from a hollow plastic bat, but the most common cause is from being struck by a ball or puck during organized sports.
|
Nader, a first-grader, had been playing baseball with a
15-year-old neighbor boy who lives on the street. The
boy told police that he had intended to hit a pop fly
for the younger boy, but instead he accidentally ended
up hitting a line drive that hit Nader in the chest.
The boy's father, Nader Parman, dashed out of the door
right after his son was injured.
"He ran outside as quickly as he could, picked up my
son, brought him inside the house and immediately
started administering CPR, calling 911," Sherri Parman
told Good Morning America. But it wasn't enough.
Heart’s Rhythm Thrown Off
When a child collapses from commotio cordis, CPR techniques are of little use, experts say. A portable defibrillator, like the ones used to resuscitate adult heart attack victims, might have saved Nader if it was used within the first three minutes after it happened. But without it, even immediate first aid was too late.
"After three to five minutes, if you cannot get the individual back into their regular rhythm, it's unlikely that they'll survive," said Dr. Mark Link, associate professor of medicine at Tufts New England Medical Center in Boston
|
Most Injuries Are Fatal
The vast majority of the commotio cordis victims die.
Nearly all of them are male, under the age of 20, which
is when the chest wall finishes developing. The most
vulnerable are children under the age of 12 whose chest
cages are narrow, and who have underdeveloped chest
muscles. Experts say that while most chest injuries are
associated with football or baseball, they can even occur
in the home with objects that are not considered dangerous.
The JAMA study found that bodily contact during shadow
boxing, playing with the pet dog, parent-child discipline,
gang rituals, intervening in scuffles, and attempts to remedy the hiccups have also caused death.
But, 60 percent of the incidents are caused by baseballs. Most of the other sports-related cases occurred in ice hockey, with other instances reported in connection with football, lacrosse, basketball, cricket, martial arts, boxing, fights, and vehicular accidents.
| Because of the risk, some baseball players wear special chest protectors beneath their shirts. The JAMA study concludes that the safety of young athletes can be improved by wearing of equipment that can protect the chest wall from blows. Other preventive measures include having young players use soft baseballs, and educating participants and coaches.
Nader's untimely death has served as an inspiration to many people who have now taken CPR training and learned to use portable defibrillators. Schools across the country now have AED's and CPR-trained staff; Many sports teams now carry this equipment and are ready to respond instantly in the event of a child suffering Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Make sure your business or community group has the same training. Contact Sherri Parman at info@naderparman.org.
|
To make contributions in honor of Nader, his family asks that you send donations to the Nader Parman II Memorial Foundation (a 501c3 charitable organization): 3664 Cochran Lake Rd., Marietta, GA 30062.
|
|
