Local Ottawa teen, Rowan Stringer was only 17 when she died on Mother’s Day in 2013. After suffering her second concussion within the week, the teen lost consciousness while playing the sport she loved and never awoke again.

The coroner’s inquest that followed exposed a lack of protocols in youth amateur sports that experts say must be addressed to keep children safe.

In our two-part blog series, we explore the recommendations made to educate parents, athletes, coaches and organizations about the severity that head injuries can lead to. We also look at the pressure felt by athletes to push forward, not taking the necessary recovery time and, leaving young athletes at risk. What has been implemented since the recommendations and what work still needs to be done? There are still many questions that need to be addressed and more research to be done, however – we are on the right path by continuing to have these conversations and raise awareness.

The coroner’s inquest into Rowan’s death resulted in 49 recommendations, including but not limited to:

• Increased education & awareness for parents, coaches, athletes, and teachers surrounding concussion injuries
• Better tools for coaches & trainers to identify concussions
• Concussion policies in place at all school boards and sports associations across Ontario
• Increased education and training for healthcare professionals to better treat and manage concussions

Rowan’s Law requested that an expert advisory committee to Ontario’s Premier was created, to develop a plan to implement the coroner’s recommendations. In our next part of this blog, we will reach out to the committee and various healthcare practitioners to discuss what steps have been taken and what is left to do.