Overcoming obstacles

MILL CREEK

Brooklynn York didn’t give the incident a second thought.

Two years ago, the Jackson catcher was working on her offensive skills at a hitting station during practice at the high school.

The players were picking up softballs when York stood up and accidently hit the back of her head on the arm of a soft toss machine. She was dizzy for about five minutes but then got back to work. Later that night York had a headache.

York doesn’t recall much about the following day, but her friends never will forget what happened.

Former teammate Morgan Frost noticed that the usually outgoing and talkative York was quiet and that she seemed upset.

“She looked like she was going to cry all day,” Frost said.

Frost tried to engage York in conversation but she didn’t want to talk. York and Frost were in a Spanish class together when York got up and left the room to go to the bathroom. Frost followed her friend and found her standing up against the wall. York then started shaking and crying.

“I put my hand on her shoulder,” Frost said. “She said, ‘I want my dad. Who are you?’ … She looked in my eyes and had no idea of who I was. She wanted her dad.”

Frost immediately ran to find the school nurse and as the two were helping York out of the bathroom, she started convulsing and shaking. York was having a seizure, which is defined as a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain that can affect a person’s motor and cognitive skills.

The paramedics were called and York was taken to the hospital where she spent about eight hours undergoing a battery of tests. The seemingly minor mishap at practice actually resulted in York suffering post-traumatic concussion syndrome, which in turn triggered her seizure.

Post-traumatic concussion syndrome is a brain injury that can result in a number of symptoms including headaches, change in personality and impaired cognition. Symptoms can last for days, weeks or even years.

The hospital referred York to a neurologist and she eventually also was diagnosed with epilepsy, a brain disorder that causes people to have recurrent seizures. Doctors told York and her family that the concussion did not cause the epilepsy but triggered it. The exact causes of epilepsy are difficult to determine and it’s not known what would have happened had York not suffered a concussion.

While the first seizure took place at school, a few days later York was stricken during the middle of a softball game at Shorecrest High School. It was the first time the rest of York’s teammates saw her have a seizure and it shook everyone up.

“I just remember standing on first base and I looked into the dugout and all of a sudden I’m seeing Brooklynn shaking and on the ground,” teammate Ashley Todd said. “People were saying call 911. … It’s scary to see that happen to your teammate. It was tough to watch her go through that.”

Jackson coach Mike Moran assured the team that York was going to be fine and the game resumed, but the image of York being taken away in an ambulance lingered for the players.

“Their focus was ‘Is their teammate OK?’ not necessarily the game,” Moran said.

The most difficult part for York’s teammates was not being able to help her, Frost said. “Everyone got really upset. Not knowing what to do is the worst part.”

Treating her condition turned out to be quite an ordeal for York and her family. She continued to have seizures for about 10 months as the doctor tried to stabilize her condition. York attempted to live some semblance of a normal life, going to school and continuing to play softball, but it was difficult. York was transported in an ambulance to the hospital about 15 times in those 10 months.

“During that time I continued to have seizures, I was going back and forth to the doctors and hospitals,” York said. “It was really hard. I kind of lost part of my high school years because I couldn’t go out during the summer and I couldn’t hang out with friends or drive because I was either in the hospital or at home.”

The initial medication York was given made her extremely sick and caused her to miss a lot of school. There were days when it was simply hard to get out of bed.

“I was so tired I wanted to stay in bed,” York said.

Moran talked with Brooklynn’s father, Al, and the two decided that since York’s condition was going to be an on-going issue her teammates needed to be informed about the situation. So one day before practice, York talked about her condition with the team.

“I just told them that I have epilepsy now,” York said. “I will be having seizures and not to be afraid. I’ll be good. I’ll get better. They were all supportive.”

Moran was impressed by York’s maturity in sharing the news with her teammates.

“That was very tough for her to do — to say ‘Hey guys. This is what’s going on. This is my problem,’” Moran said.

In the beginning, every time York had a seizure she was concerned that she wasn’t going to get any better. But her spirits improved in large part due to the support she received from her teammates.

“I knew I could get through it,” York said. “My friends were there for me. I probably wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them. They had to put up with my seizures.”

York, 18, now can usually anticipate when she is going to have a seizure. She gets dizzy and feels as if everything is going in slow motion. York also starts to get tremors. During her seizures York passes out and starts shaking violently on the ground. Her back arches and sometimes she gets foam in her mouth.

The main concern is to make sure York isn’t choking and that her head isn’t hitting anything.

“You have to cradle my head but not hold on to my body because I can strain or break a bone,” York said.

York actually stopped breathing during one seizure after she was given an overdose of medication while being transported by an ambulance to the hospital. York has to be intubated so that she could breathe.

Though her condition is a serious matter, York, who is known for her sense of humor, often made light of the situation, which in turn put her teammates at ease.

Todd recalls that York often would banter with Moran, telling him “You don’t want me getting hit with the ball. You don’t want me flopping on the ground.” Moran has overheard York urging her teammates to “Watch my head, I’m epileptic” or warning them “Don’t touch me, I’m an epileptic.”

York’s teammates feel comfortable enough to tease her. Carly McEachran often calls York by her nickname – Eppy.

The last time York had a seizure was this past summer at a softball tournament, so the issue hasn’t really come up with this year’s team. York currently takes two medications to control her seizures.

Doctors initially expressed concerns about York playing softball since she was at-risk for sustaining another concussion. But eventually York was given the OK to play.

“You’ve just got to shake it off,” York said. “It’s like an obstacle course. I guess my life has been one ever since I’ve had my seizures. So you’ve just got to move on.”

Al York remembers a conversation he had with his daughter about six months into the process that he feels was a turning point in York’s life.

“She said, ‘I think these seizures are making me stronger,’” Al York recalled.

York earned first-team, all-league utility player honors as a junior. She caught and played in the infield. This season York took over as the full-time catcher and has helped lead Jackson to its fourth straight Western Conference South Division championship.

As one of only three seniors on the roster, York is a player the younger Timberwolves look to for leadership. Moran expects a lot out of his catchers, especially in dealing with pitchers, and York has risen to the challenge.

“You can just hear it,” Moran said. “She’s very vocal in pregame and during the game.”

Whatever needs to be said is always said in a positive light, Moran added.

York would like to continue her softball career after high school and is looking into community college opportunities. But York and her teammates have plenty of softball left this season, including next week’s district tournament and, if all goes well there, then state.

“She’s done a great job of just battling back and carrying our team this year,” Todd said.

While epilepsy has had a major impact on her life, York preserved through the difficult times and is thankful she can continue to excel in the sport she loves so much.

“You can get through it,” York said. “You can still play sports. It’s not going to ruin you life. You might think it will. You just have to get over the hurdle.”