Girl dies after collapsing at football practice

[The1calledTKE]

BARTLETT, Ill. (AP) — A 10-year-old girl who played on a tackle football team died after collapsing during practice.

Taylor Davison, the only girl on her team, collapsed after non-contact drills on Friday and died three days later.


The Cook County medical examiner's office ruled that her death was caused by blunt trauma that led to a clot under the surface of her brain. A spokesman for the office said she had been hit during a full-contact practice earlier in the week.

But Taylor's mother, Susan Davison, questioned the ruling. She said doctors had told her that her daughter had malformed blood vessels in her brain because she was a premature infant.

Dr. John Grant, a neurosurgeon at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, said it would have taken a serious hit to cause the type of injury described in the medical examiner's report. It could occur days before death but should be accompanied by progressively worse headaches. Taylor never complained of a headache until just before her collapse.

"The trauma should have been very evident," Grant said. "You can't die from a trivial hit to the head at that age. It had to be something powerful."

Taylor played every position in the 800-player Bartlett Raiders organization, west of Chicago, and the boys considered her an equal in the sport, said Barry Brinn, president of the Raiders organization.

"The boys loved her as a teammate," he said. "She was a girl they could talk football with. Her coach said he drafted her because she had the heart of the lion and the smile of an angel."

"For some reason she loved being competitive with the boys," said her father, Todd Davison. "She begged to be on the team. She wanted to practice every day, and she cried last year when the season was over."

[APhi]

Wow, there's nothing worse than senseless tragedies affecting children. My thoughts and prayers are with her family.

Sounds like she was one heck of a kid.

[Hootie]

So sad! I know personally how it is to see a young person die from sports so young.
My brother was playing on a select baseketball team a couple years ago with a young boy named Bryce. Bryce had had a let surgery and been out most of the season. His first game back he was doing well, rebounded and was running down the court when suddenly he fell to the ground. His mother, who is a RN, rushed out there and he was taken to the hospital. He died of a blood clot at the age of 12...doing what he loved most.
They (the doctors) said it could have happened while walking up the stairs, or doing anything semi-strenious.

So as it sounds in this young girl's case, she may have already had problems and something just offset them.

Very tragic!

Hootie