Accident in Oregon

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/20 ... /prep2.txt

Lessons from a fall

Andy Cripe/Mid-Valley Sports
Crescent Valley's Tessa Johnson shares a lighter moment with coach Dave Gable.


Coaches, athletes hope pole vaulter Tessa Johnson's accident leads to increased safety awareness

By Steve Gress
Mid-Valley Sports


Kelli Greenfield had just finished vaulting and was hanging out with teammate Joan Casey as she cooled down.

The Crescent Valley High School students watched as Tessa Johnson began her pole vault attempt at the Grizzly Bear Meet in McMinnville. In an instant, they were watching in horror as Johnson came crashing to the ground, landing hard on her back, arms and head.

CV coach Dave Gable rushed to Johnson's aid, checking to see if she was breathing. She let out a guttural sound as her legs finally relaxed and fell to the ground. Then she passed out for nearly five minutes.

"I was nuts," Gable said. "I kept saying, ‘I will not leave your side.' I just wanted to give her some comfort."

Greenfield and Casey feared the worst.

"It was scary," Greenfield said. "It was instant tears. We were all like, ‘Oh gosh, she's dead.' We didn't want to walk down there because people were already starting to gather.

"But she is our teammate, so we kind of have to go there. We love her, so we want to go down there and make sure she's OK, but at the same time if she is dead, we're not sure we can handle that."

Johnson's teammates weren't the only ones affected. West Salem athletes gathered in a circle and prayed for nearly 20 minutes.

As the ambulance was getting ready to leave the field, Corvallis High senior Becca Cooper informed Gable that they would stop the competition out of respect for Johnson.

"Everyone was dismayed and stricken," Gable recalled. "It was neat to see everyone come together."

Johnson suffered a Grade 3 concussion, a bruised back, spine, hip and elbow and spent time at McMinnville Hospital. She was transferred to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland before being released the next day.

It could have been much worse.

It was the second accident of the evening. A member of the Rex Putnam boys team was injured earlier while attempting a vault.

Because of that injury, the pits were pulled forward. They were almost overhanging the box instead of being tapered away to allow the pole to bend and shoot up.

When the pits are too close, it doesn't allow for the proper angle, causing the pole to come up and hit the pits, stop rolling forward and then shoot up.

"Tessa did everything right," Gable said. "It was probably going to be her best jump because she was really vertical."

Johnson didn't know there was a problem at first, but she could quickly see she was in trouble. She took her cue from the pole and reacted the way she has been coached by Gable since middle school.

She looked down, let go of the pole and began to put her hands out in an effort to break the fall from over 10 feet up.

"Tessa's accident shouldn't have happened because it was preventable," Greenfield said. "Things like that just shouldn't happen."

At first, Johnson wasn't sure exactly what had happened. Paramedics were carefully trying to place her on a backboard to move her to the hospital. Her vision was blurry and she tried to make sense of the lights, sirens and numerous strange people around her as she made her way to the ER. It was there that Gable and Johnson, who have developed a close bond, considered never vaulting or coaching again.

Gable took six or seven years off from coaching the last time one of his athletes fell, in 1987. Then, the athlete had a cracked neck and had to wear a halo but was OK.

"I just started crying because I knew that I may never do the sport again," Johnson said, admitting she vaguely remembered telling Gable she was finished with the sport.

"I'm not going to quit. I'm still alive, and I am still healthy. God gave me the grace of still being here, so I'm not going to just give it up. I am still going to do it and stay strong. I will have to wear a helmet, but I don't care."

Johnson fell in love with the vault from the moment Gable introduced her to the sport as an eighth-grader at Cheldelin Middle School. She would go over to CV at the end of practice and get in a few vaults as often as she could.

By her sophomore year, Johnson was setting the school record with a jump of 10-6 before eventually clearing 11-0 later in the season. She has competed at the past two state meets, winning the district championship as a junior and placing second with Casey last year.

Being in the pits and on a pole have been a release throughout her last five years, an escape to the daily pressures and stresses the world can offer.

"Ever since I was a little girl, I have relied on sports to get me away from things, whether they be family issues, school issues or anything like that," Johnson said. "Pole vaulting fell right in there, and I have loved it since the day I started. It has helped me through a lot of problems with a bad relationship and other things like that."

After some rest, Johnson decided she wanted to return. She was back at practice the next day to let her teammates know she was all right.

Gable gave the team the week of spring break off to think about where they wanted to go after the accident. Did they want to get back at it, or bag it and call it a season?

"I told them I wasn't going to be at the track for spring break," Gable said. "When we came back, we went through and had a big old cry session. Everyone told what they were thinking. I think it was really healthy."

The accident was a wake-up call for the CV track team. Watching a beloved teammate nearly die will have that effect.

The team decided to continue and to try to have some good come out of Johnson's accident. They discussed making helmets mandatory for pole vaulting, hoping other teams would follow suit.

But after some discussion and investigation, it was decided that wearing helmets would be an individual choice. Most have opted not to wear them.

Helmets have several drawbacks. No certified helmet is made specifically for vaulting. Also, wearing a helmet could increase the risk of neck and spinal injuries.

"I've made sure everyone has thought about it," Greenfield said. "At this point I'm not (wearing one), but as soon as they get one out for pole vaulting, definitely. As long as it says this is for pole vaulting and I have read background on it and it will help, absolutely, but I don't really want to take the risk of injuring my spinal cord right now."

Johnson must wear a helmet when she practices or competes. She was back to practice Monday, and while it was a bit tough to get back on the pole, she was glad to be back at it.

"I made sure I didn't let any of my teammates or coaches know that I was a little bit scared, just because I don't want them freaking out," she said. "They were already freaking out enough.

"It did pass my mind, but it was, I can either let that affect me or I can push past it and not let it bother me."

Gable also organized a safety meeting with Paul Wilson, the Willamette University pole vault coach and a member of the national pole vault safety committee. Wilson traveled to Corvallis just over a week ago to discuss vaulting safety. Gable has helped put together a safety packet for the Valley League's athletic directors. It will be distributed at other meets as well.

He also has taken the 16-step safety check sheet from the 2004 National Federation of State High School Associations' safety rules. It is his captains' responsibility to make sure the pits and the area around them are up to standards.

While it could mean not competing at a meet, Greenfield said she is willing to take that chance if it will bring awareness to unsafe surroundings. She also said she hopes other teams will follow the Raiders' lead.

"Accidents like that shouldn't happen," she said. "Especially if the school's pits aren't up to code. We shouldn't be vaulting on them, but they should be up to code.

"For them, even in practice, it could happen if they aren't up to code. I would love it if everyone just kind of had this big sweep across Oregon for safety."

The vault is safe when precautions are taken. Gable said the key is safe and proper equipment, a coach who knows the sport and good pole selection.

"I think to a certain extent everyone has taken more of an interest in (safety)," Greenfield said. "I've always been kind of aware of it just because I love the pole vault and I want to make sure I know everything that is going on.

"Everyone who pole vaults knows the dangers when they start, or at least they should, and if they don't, someone needs to have a discussion with them and say, ‘Look, this is what can happen.'

"If you love something enough you are going to take the risk."

Gable said he hopes something positive comes out of what could have been a tragic accident.

"I think from Tessa's horrible accident, actually there is some good coming from it," he said. "We will be better because of this accident. We will be so safety-oriented that this will never happen again because of the over-exaggerated measures we are taking.

"A great thing will live on from Tessa. A lot of things should live on from her.

[rebelvaulter]

"Tessa did everything right," Gable said. "It was probably going to be her best jump because she was really vertical."

Johnson didn't know there was a problem at first, but she could quickly see she was in trouble. She took her cue from the pole and reacted the way she has been coached by Gable since middle school.

She looked down, let go of the pole and began to put her hands out in an effort to break the fall from over 10 feet up.

Ok... Im confused, I have always been taught to HANG ON to the pole, especially when you are vertical. Maybe I dont understand what was happening with her pole or whatever but wouldnt it be even more dangerous to let go of the pole when you are upsidedown?

[zack]

Yes you should always hang on to the pole until you've landed or are safely over the pit. And she actually didn't let go until after she had turned back over after swinging.

[rainbowgirl28]

Tessa wrote a great article describing what happened to her. I'll post that shortly.

The article contains a link to video of the accident. This may be upsetting to some people. I will describe the video below, use your discretion as to whether or not you should view it.

The video shows Tessa's vault. She plants the pole and starts to swing up very early. The pole never comes close to rotating into the pit. She turns over at the top of the vault and lets go of the pole. The pole pops out of the box and she falls to the runway. Her feet are rotating underneath her and she lands on her back on the runway with her head in or near the box. You can't see the landing very clearly (which is a good thing in my opinion).

I am posting this in hopes that people can learn from it.

VIDEO OF TESSA'S ACCIDENT
DO NOT WATCH IF YOU ARE EASILY SCARED
http://www2.corvallis.k12.or.us/cheldel ... cident.wmv

[swtvault]

Looks like a classic case of holding too high on too big of a pole. Too bad.

[rainbowgirl28]

This is a well written article by Tessa.

http://www.democratherald.com/articles/ ... /prep1.txt

‘They said I had a pretty bad fall from 10 feet up'


Editor's note: Crescent Valley senior Tessa Johnson suffered a horrific fall while pole vaulting at the Grizzly Bear Open at McMinnville High School on March 18. This is her recollection of the event and what followed.

By Tessa Johnson
Special to Mid-Valley Sports

Lying flat on my back, the black hole of my vision comes together, into focus.

Someone had a hold on my head so it wouldn't move. It was a man yelling at other people.

Other people swarmed around me. Up to my left I could see my coach (Dave Gable), tears on his cheeks, continually telling me "Tessa, I'm right here, I'm not leaving you. I'm right here."

Paramedics were crouched around me, putting my head in a neck brace. The red and white lights of the ambulance flashed across tear-stricken faces. I felt like I just woke up.

But I was lying at the foot of the pads with my head resting on the cold metal surface of the box. I asked what happened and all they said was that I had a pretty bad fall from 10 feet up, my jump at attempting 9-6 in the meet.

"On three, roll. One, two, three."

I rolled up onto my right shoulder and hip. A hard backboard slid behind my back. As I rolled back, an excruciating pain filled my head and my back. The stretcher lifted. Clapping filled the air.

It was blurry the next few minutes. A bunch of paramedics worked over me in the back of the ambulance, sliding a sharp needle in my arm and sticking pads on my chest to monitor my heart and lungs.

It all happened so fast, yet I couldn't remember anything. The last thing I can remember was taking my first three lefts down the runway. Counting in my head, six, five, four lowering the pole, then nothing.

With lights and sirens, I think, the ambulance maneuvered its bulky self to McMinnville Hospital. This is a dream. I don't know what is happening. I got rolled quickly through the ER, nurses yelling, the lights above me flashing by. Then everything stopped.

I was laying on a bed in the ER. I knew because of the IV in my arm and the towers of monitors surrounding me. Everyone was gone. Then Gable was there. He sat beside me, with tears on his cheeks. I could almost taste the salty warm drips myself. He held my hand and just looked at me with scared eyes.

A nightmare had happened.

I was in a distant haze the next few hours, whizzing through X-rays and CT scans, nurses and teammates, fluids and morphine. Yet I still felt pain all over my body.

Again I asked what happened and I guess it was the sixth time I had asked. People continued to explain the accident.

Then it hit me.

My emotions welled in my throat, tears began flowing from the corner of my eyes, down my temple into my ears. My mom wasn't there. Stephen (Wagner) wasn't there. I felt alone. Scared, I continued to lay there while I assumed the radiologists were reviewing my numerous X-rays.

Reality.

I was severely injured. My senior year, the first meet, the sport that has meant the world to me for the last five years. Year-round, I think about pole vaulting â€â€

[Carolina Extreme]

I'll say it and I don't care if anyone has a problem with it, because it needs to be said. That vault is scary as hell. Her take off was way under, she never even tried to jump up and into her take off, to get the pole to roll over and allow her to get safely over the pit. She just swang straight up off the ground. This near catastrophic vault had nothing to do with the pads being to close. She just swang right off the ground and violated "Rule #1" in vaulting, "Never let go of the pole until you know where you are going to land." That way if things go bad you can ride it to a safe place. I pray that she wasn't taught as was suggested in the first article to let go and put her hands out in front of her when a vault goes bad.

Unfortunately in life, accidents will and do happen. That is why they call them accidents, they are never planned. We can all make vaulting safer by sticking to "Rule #1", and also by getting used to vaulting with the standards at or near 32". The 15.5" minimum is still way to close, if you come up short. At 32" if you come up short you should at least be over the pit. And if a vaulter flys off or near the side of the pit, take their pilots license away for the day as we did with a guy in a meet this past weekend. Because with the larger, safer pits we have now it'll be pilot error that will cause the majority of catastrophic injuries from this time forward.

I'm sure I speak for many of us here in saying that none of us ever want to go through, or for anyone else to go through, what Kevin Dare's family has gone through and what this girls family went through following her near fatal fall.

[Horse]

reminds me of an accident i had at reno pole vault summit in 2003...got too eager and my technique fell apart after holding about 6 inches too high on a pole (was about at 15'10" grip) and got the pole to vertical and it stalled...i tried to get it to go off to one of the sides unsuccessfully and ended up spinning 180 degrees and fell backwards on to the ground below the runway with both my arms extended backwards and if it wasnt for some blue pad that caused my arms to slip out to their sides, the doctor i saw the next day said i would have been done pole vaulting (possibly could have snapped both wrists and dislocated both shoulders)...but i did take my next two vaults and NH'd...doctor said i hyperextended my wrists pretty bad...they hurt for about 8 months...for some reason though they never bothered me when i vaulted...but did for everything else; finished 4th at NAIA indoor nationals with a 15'11.75" vault, go figure...hope Tessa Johnson gets better soon...this coming from a fellow oregon vaulter

[Bruce Caldwell]

This is a terrible accident. I did notice from the pole side of the video, that she is holding below the grip area on the pole. SO what ever size pole this is, where she is holding it is much stiffer than the rating!

I hope that she is OK?

Bruce

[VTechVaulter]

FUNDAMENTALS
FUNDAMENTALS
FUNDAMENTALS

from day 1 i have always been taught that if you are in trouble never let go of the pole, if you are hanging from the pole, your feet are down. Also, this appears to be another case of overgripping.

this is why i am a firm believer in trying to get coaches certified. I also think that it is important to teach bail skills to new vaulters. I can remember jumping at skyjumpers on summer where we learned to bail left, bail right, and bail back down the center.

best of luck in a solid recovery
~b

[SlickVT]

I'm with Rusty. I think (ont top of holding high and taking off under), inexperience looked a culprit here. Getting caught in a situation like that is not common, and from the look on her face and tightening of her body in the air, you can tell she immediately went into panic mode. Would a certified coach or bigger mats done anything there? Probably not. This may sound dumb, but where I learned to vault (Fiber Benders) there are mats way out in front of the front buns, and way to the side of the mats. We would sometimes raise our grips ALOT in a day, past comfort levels, and if it didn't work out, we practiced coming down safely. I went from a 15' grip to a 15'9 grip one day, and 90% of the time, I got in to the pit. The other ten percent, I bailed safely, sometimes with some acrobatics thrown in. Its all about body control. I, like veryone else in here, hope she is ok and will vault again, but experience does wonders.

[lythargic]

went over the back of a small pit on a blow through:

arm folded in 90 degrees. paralyzed wrist to elbow
http://lythargic.com/john/images/arm1.jpg

http://lythargic.com/john/images/metal1.jpg

http://lythargic.com/john/images/neck1.jpg