With any contact sport, the risk of serious injury is an accepted fact. Most athletes say such things are out of their control and that they can't let the fear of getting hurt dictate the way they approach the game, but they know the consequences of injury can go far beyond the sport.
For Patrick Cannon, a 15-year-old hockey player at Holy Ghost Prep in Bensalem, one collision at a practice last Monday afternoon nearly left him paralyzed,
Philly.com reports.
The freshman defenseman collided with teammate Zach Babst during corner battle for the puck and dropped to the ground. He found himself unable to regain his balance and had limited sensation in his arms.
Zach's father, Jim, went out to the ice and and told Patrick to remain still as an ambulance was called in. Meanwhile, Patrick's father, Shawn, rushed over from work after receiving the kind of phone call any parent dreads.
At Aria Torresdale Hospital, results from Patrick's X-rays and a CT scan were potentially dire.
"I'm not a doctor, but you could see the fracture in his neck," Shawn said. "It was crystal clear. I mean, really obvious."
Shawn's stomach jumped into his throat. Doctors told him it was the C4 vertebra, the place in the neck where spinal nerves control breathing motor functions and the diaphragm.
"This is serious, they said," Shawn recalled. "We can't work on him."
Because his condition was so sensitive to slight movements, Patrick was airlifted to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. There, Dr. Greg Heuer, a pediatric neurosurgeon and former hockey player himself, reviewed Patrick's images and was surprised he had not been paralyzed already.
CHOP rearranged its surgery schedule for the following morning. A titanium rod and pelvic bones from a cadaver were inserted through Patrick's neck on the front side, along with plates and screws for reinforcement. He was then flipped on his back for the placement of additional rods and screws.
"Our phones were lighting up like Christmas trees," Shawn said. "I really can't explain it. We were very worried, obviously, but everyone's concern comforted us. That helped. Then Jim Babst showed up to sit and wait with us for 3 hours. That really touched us - both my wife and I were really emotional at that point."
On Friday, Patrick walked out of CHOP on his own power. Dr. Heuer regarded his recovery as a miracle, a combination of Patrick's anatomy and the immediate intervention of Jim Babst.
Patrick hopes to be ready for next hockey season after 4-6 months without contact sports, but the story is a powerful reminder of how preparedness for managing sports emergencies can make the difference in whether a person ever walks again.
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