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Rowan's Law Aimed to Raise Awareness

Sunday, 29 November 2015 09:45

A new bill is being introduced that will be more strict on concussion cases following the death of a 17 year old Ontario girl

Parents in Oxford County are being encouraged to take a serious look at the effects of concussions as a new bill is introduced.

Rowan's Law is being introduced to help protect young athletes. This comes after Rowan Stringer, a 17 year old rugby player, was knocked unconscious during a game in 2013. She died just days later. During an inquest into her death, they discovered she had suffered three concussions in less than a week. 

Oxford County Public Health Nurse Lorna says after people suffer a concussion they need to give themselves time to heal. "When they don't get that time, and they don't wait until they're fully recovered and then get a second or third concussion then they are at increased risk of further injury to the brain to which the brain has more difficulty recovering."

Boratto says some of the problems we face when it comes to concussion is the way we perceive them. "Just the word concussion you think 'Oh, well it's just a concussion.' But it is a traumatic brain injury that has occurred. And for some it's pretty minor, and within a day or two their feeling a whole lot better. But for other the symptoms can last for a long time."

The most important thing you can do if you think you might have a concussion is to remove yourself from play. "First of all I think that what's really important is that the person who has sustained it needs to report it. So they need to tell somebody - if they are a player they need to tell their coach, they need to tell their parents and step back and not play," Boratto says. "So that's the first thing - is to not return to play. And then they need to see a medical professional."

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