On August 24, 2009, our son Daniel made starting linebacker for Cypress Bay High School’s JV football team. It was a victory for him and his first major step in actualizing his desire to play in college. It was also his last day ever playing football.

At 5’9”, 160 pounds, he wasn’t big, but he was tough and fearless, and he thought it was the way to be, to one day play for his dream team, the University of Miami Hurricanes. No pain, no gain.

Daniel began playing football at 11, and never looked back. Tough and versatile, he played offense, defense, and special teams, rarely getting off the field. He loved it, and he was good. Determined, he did all that was needed: kept in shape, practiced hard, kept up his grades, and never complained. No, he never complained and never told anyone when he was hurt until August 24, 2009.

“Coach, I can’t see,” Daniel finally confessed. Coaches noted he was sluggish, not responsive during play and the reason was obvious when he finally went to them. The athletic trainer suggested a trip to the pediatrician the next day to possibly get an MRI. In the ensuing days and months Daniel further acknowledged he had been hit head-on and taken quite a few blows that left him seeing stars. The previous week alone, Daniel never told anyone – the coaches nor his parents – how many times he got clocked in the head, was sick, dizzy, and had headaches. A Tylenol here and there was all he asked for.

In the following 19 months Daniel underwent every imaginable medical test: MRIs, MRAs, EEGs, and CT scans multiple times as a course of regular treatment, in the hospital, and even during an emergency room visit. He was seen by medical experts and specialists that looked at and tested his balance, ears, eyes, even his skin. Diagnosed with Post-Concussion Syndrome and ‘migraine-type headaches,’ Daniel regularly saw a neurologist, was on anti-seizure/migraine medication, visited a chiropractor, and even tried acupuncture. Nothing helped his chronic headaches, growing depression, sluggishness, and apathy. Daniel’s value judgments and behaviors deteriorated as he tried in vain to alleviate his pain through self-medication. Psychiatrists at one hospital prescribed anti-depressant and anti-psychotic medications geared to treat his depression, but they, just like all the numerous well-intentioned medical professionals in Broward County, never followed a process to also treat his injured brain.

It wasn’t until March 2011 when Daniel was truly diagnosed and finally underwent treatment for his multiple football concussions 19 months prior. It was perchance a newspaper article on the Internet where I read about another young man with sports-related concussions from playing soccer and the neurologic and cognitive issues he and his family encountered. Within three months of his injuries, they found the UHealth Sports Medicine’s Concussion Program, and this young man was properly diagnosed, treated, and is thriving today. Since then the family partnered with the UHealth Sports Medicine’s Concussion Program, and the KiDZ Neuroscience Center at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and together made enormous strides to keep young athletes safe in all of Miami-Dade County’s Public High Schools through concussion awareness training and proper and immediate diagnoses. They established a protocol for monitoring all of Miami-Dade’s high school athletes before, during, and after an injury via ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing); the first, most-widely used, and most scientifically validated computerized neurocognitive assessment. We need to implement ImPACT testing and more concussion education in other counties in Florida.

Today we know, thanks to the doctors from University of Miami’s Concussion Program, Daniel indeed suffered multiple concussions and what Daniel suffered in totality for too long should never have happened. Daniel was an amazing young man, with a kind heart, a love for life, music, friends and family; and a zest for football. It is a parent’s worst nightmare to see their child suffer. It is as a result of a young man’s demise – why we need to not let it happen again, and why this is so important. Daniel took his own life in May 2011 as a result of the several disabilities resulting from his brain injury.

Our family also now understands, disabilities resulting from concussions range differently for each person. Problems with thinking, memory, and reasoning as well as communication can be different from one athlete to another. If left untreated or under-diagnosed it can also lead to behavior and mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, aggression, loss of impulse control and value judgment. None of these issues can be diagnosed by MRIs, MRAs, EEGs, or CT scans.

To start, neurocognitive testing such as ImPACT is needed for every one of our young athletes. Parallel to the required physical exam every athlete needs prior to playing sports, a neurocognitive baseline for post injury comparison is neither unreasonable nor unattainable. It provides parents and coaches a full awareness of the extent of the injury and is simply the best way to ensure our children are safe before returning to play after an injury. ImPACT is here and is available through awareness and School Board policies.

From March to May 2011, Daniel’s quality of life improved greatly due to the correct diagnoses and treatment by the doctors at the University of Miami’s Concussion Program. It was too late for Daniel for ImPACT or ongoing concussion management and education, but through countywide awareness and action, it is our hope his story can lead the way in other counties for ImPACT, concussion awareness, and integrated procedures to keep our kids safe.

Finally, a standardization of protocols for our injured young athletes within each high school, pop warner, or optimist club needs to be addressed on behalf of these student athletes; so the worst-case scenario doesn’t play out again. Overarching policies in our communities and schools based on laws and proven processes for training, awareness, procedures, and testing is a must for concussion management. There is no excuse not to have it as this is not a watershed cause.

After Daniel died, our family vowed to help others and do what we could so no other child or family goes through what we did and create a legacy for Daniel, so…

• In 2011 we incorporated The Daniel Brett Foundation, Inc. as a non-profit 501 (3) (c) organization;
• With the support of some amazing people, The Daniel Brett Foundation met with School Board Member Ms. Laurie Rich Levinson, Broward County Director of Athletics and Student Activities Mr. Damian Huttenhoff and many others, and on March 20, 2012 the School Board of Broward County adopted a Resolution to provide a true Concussion Management Program for all Broward County public high schools. The Resolution now provides the mandatory implementation of neurocognitive testing (ImPACT) for every student athlete prior to participating in any sport to achieve a baseline through 2014; concussion awareness training countywide for parents, athletic trainers, students, and teachers; and follow-up guidance and services post-injury. Read more here.
• On March 31, 2012, The Daniel Brett Foundation sponsored the inaugural Daniel’s Dash for Concussion Awareness 5K Run/Walk! Supported by family, friends, community, and kind sponsors, over 400 runners and volunteers participated in the 1st (known anywhere) Concussion Awareness 5K Run/Walk at Markham Park in Sunrise, FL and it was a resounding success bringing true concussion education and awareness for all student athletes and parents in Broward County.
• Florida’s Concussion Law passed April 27, 2012!  Spearheaded by a state task force led by Daniel’s doctor, Dr. Gillian Hotz, Ph.D., research professor of neurological surgery and director of UM’s Concussion Program, and sponsored by state Senator Anitere Flores of Miami, the law bars young athletes who endure concussions from returning to practice or play until they are cleared by a physician. It also requires parents to sign informed consent forms acknowledging they are aware of the risks of concussion. Daniel’s family and friends brought Daniel’s Story forward as a voice for more families to assist, and to support Dr. Hotz, the Goldstein Family, and many others already leading consciousness for concussion management protocols via Legislative change. On October 12, 2012 Governor Rick Scott visited The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami to officially sign into law the bill designed to safeguard Florida’s youth athletes from the potentially devastating consequences of brain injuries suffered on the playing field. Thanking Dr. Hotz, and all of UM for its “admirable” work, Governor Scott dedicated the new law to Daniel Brett, a Broward County high school freshman who took his own life after enduring two years of long-term effects, including dizziness, mood swings and migraines, following multiple concussions playing football. His mother is now working with Broward Schools to bring baseline ImPACT testing and education to high school athletes. “This bill cannot bring Daniel back,” Scott said, “but it will live in his memory and hopefully protect the health and welfare of other students for generations to come.”  Read more here.
• Finally, as the dangers and disabilities inherent with concussions become more apparent for both our younger and older athletes it is time to change the rules, to understand what can and will affect our kids in the future. The Boston University CTE Center notes: “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes (and others) with a history of repetitive brain trauma, including symptomatic concussions as well as asymptomatic nonconcussive hits to the head. CTE has been known to affect boxers since the 1920s. However, recent reports have been published of neuropathologically confirmed CTE in retired professional football players and other athletes who have a history of repetitive brain trauma. This trauma triggers progressive degeneration of the brain tissue, including the build-up of an abnormal protein called tau. These changes in the brain can begin months, years, or even decades after the last brain trauma or end of active athletic involvement. The brain degeneration is associated with memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, and, eventually, progressive dementia.” Read more about CTE here.

Shortly after Daniel died, he was included into the clinical study at Boston University CTE Center. CTE clinical researchers found athletes as young as 17 and 18 showing early signs of CTE caused by the kind of repetitive head trauma experienced on the field – similar to Daniel. The effect of Daniel’s brain injuries due to concussions were studied in Boston. Daniel was not found to have CTE – he was only 16 and a more in-depth study of his brain was not possible. What was found however was the build-up of abnormal tau protein in his brain tissue. We will never know if Daniel would have developed CTE, but looking forward, it is the asymptomatic nonconcussive and successive hits to the head he experienced playing high school sports and the “return to play” issues stemming from those hits, that we hope to help address. See the wonderful things Concussion Legacy Foundation is doing through its Legacy Donor Program.

Thank you truly for the continued support to me and my family and to all student athletes everywhere.

Diana Pilar Brett
The Daniel Brett Foundation, Inc.
A 501 (3) (c) Organization to Promote Concussion Awareness
[email protected]
http://danielsdash.org/
954.336.1320

Daniel this is for you.

The Daniel Brett Foundation is your legacy to help others as you always did, and how I will honor and love you forever, Mom

The day it happened was the same as any other day. I was cooking dinner. Jason asked me to call him when it was done and went up stairs to his room where I could hear the clanking of his weights, which was nothing unusual. I asked Duane to call Jason for dinner. He called and got no response so he went upstairs to his room. Next I heard him yell at me to “Call 911, Jason is having some kind of seizure.” The nightmare had started, the hell that we were going to be living had started. I kept thinking to myself, “He’s a young, strong kid. He hasn’t been sick at all. I know it’s serious, but he can pull through this.”

Let me tell you who Jason was. He could light up a room with just a smile. He could make you laugh no matter what mood you were in. He would keep after you until you did laugh. So many times I would be upset at him for something and he would keep pushing at me until I couldn’t help but laugh.

He was one of the most giving people, with what he had and of himself. If anyone asked him for help with anything, he was always there.

Jason has a sister, “Chris.” She is 12 years older than him. She always felt the need to protect him. Being her little brother she would always tease him and try to make him mad. The day came when he was taller and bigger than she was. She started with the teasing and he picked her up and tossed her onto the couch. The teasing stopped that day.

Jason and his dad, Duane loved Halloween. Every year, all those different costumes, never knowing what kind of weather they were going to be facing. It could be cold and raining, but that didn’t matter- out they went. What they would do for the all important “candy!”

Jason was always big for his age, but he had such a calm and quiet personality about him, unless he was on the football field all was different. People would always come up to us and ask us how could such a quiet, polite and respectful kid be such a beast on the field, we had no answer.

He tried other sports. He played basketball for a number of years, but when he first started football you could tell he loved it. Jason played for about eight years both offense and defense. He would come home with so many cuts and bruises on him from practice I was afraid to take him anywhere. I was afraid that people might think I was abusing him. They were his “war wounds” as he called them. As we were driving to his first high school game he would be playing under the lights, I remember him telling me, “Tonight I get to play under the lights, if after the game I die I would be complete and happy.”

The other thing he found he liked as much as football was lifting weights. It made him a better football player. His last couple of years of high school, if he wasn’t playing football he was in the weight room lifting weights.

After school was done and football was over, Jason seemed a little lost not knowing what he wanted to do with his life. A friend introduced him to an Army recruiter and, after talking to him, decided he wanted to join the Army. On February 22, 2010, the day Jason was supposed to sign the final paperwork, he passed away. We still don’t understand everything that happened. It also seemed like the doctors didn’t know what had happened.

The day it happened was the same as any other day. I was cooking dinner. Jason asked me to call him when it was done and went up stairs to his room where I could hear the clanking of his weights, which was nothing unusual. I asked Duane to call Jason for dinner. He called and got no response so he went upstairs to his room. Next I heard him yell at me to “call 911, Jason is having some kind of seizure.” The nightmare had started, the hell that we were going to be living had started. I kept thinking to myself, “he’s a young, strong kid. He hasn’t been sick at all. I know it’s serious, but he can pull through this.”

The next morning we found out the doctors wanted to have a discussion with us. Once everyone was there they came in and told us that the Jason we knew was gone, his body was being kept alive by machines. They ran numerous tests and they all came back showing no brain activity. All we could do was cry in disbelief, this should not be happening. Less than 24 hours ago he was standing in front of me talking to me. I thought, “this is my baby, he’s not supposed to go before me. He’s so young and had so many plans for his future.”

We returned to his room, knowing that we had to make a decision about keeping him alive with the machines or turning them off and letting him go. I have never made a more difficult decision in my life, but we needed to do what was best for Jason, so we decided to turn the machines off. He was given a shot for pain. The doctor explained it was given to all patients coming off life support to make sure they’re in no pain at all. I remember how quiet it was in his room. It wasn’t long after the shot was given that they started to back off on the machines until they were completely off. He was gone, I held on to him crying, asking him to open his eyes and come back to me. I’d lost my baby, my son. I didn’t know what to do next. I was completely lost.

The following day, Jason’s very first football coach and good friend came to the house (Jason had kept in touch with him for years after playing for him). He started to inform us about the Concussion Legacy Foundation and the work they do along with Boston University, the testing for brain injuries and trying to find ways to make sports safer to play. He explained to us that they had never had a donor of Jason’s age that had played football as long as he played—Jason always played a lineman, whether it was offense or defense, he was always a lineman. Being a lineman helmets would be crashing almost every play.

We always knew Jason wanted to be an organ donor, but because he had multiple organ failure, most of his major organs could not be used. We were saddened by this but we understood. When we were told about the institute and the work they do we knew right away that this would be something Jason would want. Any way he could help to make the game of football safer—the game he loved to play safer for kids and adults—he would jump at the chance.

Memories…you have good ones and you have bad ones. You find that you remember the good and the bad just float away. You take all the good memories and lock them away in your heart, because that’s all you have left.

Jason touched so many lives and had so many friends. I know we only had him for 19 years, but I thank God every day we had those.

As parents we spend years trying to teach our children the right values in life. You know how they are at home, but how are they are outside the home? We were always told over and over about how polite and caring he was to others, and always so respectful. We know we had one of the best sons anyone could ever ask for. We will always be proud to say we are Jason’s parents.

Being his mom I will sit alone and talk to him knowing he hears me feeling the love in my heart staying strong and growing with every conversation.

He will always have a special part of my heart forever.

We love you for all time,

Mom and Dad