It’s a Hard Knock Life — Competition, Concussions & Hawaii Youth Athletes
02/22/2013
Flickr: K.M. Klemencic (Jamie Higa not pictured.)
UPDATED 2/22/13 11 a.m.
Editor's Note: This is the second of a two-part series looking at head concussions among Hawaii student athletes. Read part 1 looking into what schools are doing to prevent the injury.
When 21-year-old Jamie Higa got her fourth and most recent concussion in late 2011, her coach told her to man up.
Higa, then a guard on Chaminade University’s women’s basketball team, was dribbling across the court in a practice set when a spiteful teammate came from behind and “clobbered” her on purpose. Civil Beat confirmed the incident with other teammates.
The jolt caught Higa off-guard. She fell to the court, the front of her head hitting the floor and then snapping backwards — just like whiplash.
She hasn’t felt normal since.
