Cheerleader dies after kick to chest during competition

Taximom · Apr 21, 2008

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/04/cheerleaders_de.html
"We hope her death will shed light on the inherent risks of cheerleading," sister Nancy Chang said, reading a statement through tears at a news conference outside Newton North High School.
Lauren Chang died Monday, a day after she collapsed during a performance at the Minuteman Cheerleading Championships in Worcester. It appears that her lungs collapsed following a kick to the chest, authorities have said. (more plus pic at link)

http://wbztv.com/local/cheerleader.killed.in.2.702670.html
"It was her life. It was her life," said Kim England with Energize Athletics. "She loved cheerleading."

Chang was performing with members of the Energy Cheer team at an event that had attracted more than 60 other cheerleading teams.

Oddly enough, the team won first place trophies for the same fateful performance that killed their teammate.

"Lauren would never have wanted us to stop, and that's what we're doing for her," England said. (more at link)

KansasCutie · Apr 21, 2008

omgsh how sad!

White Rain · Apr 21, 2008

Sad....prayers for the family!

Taximom · Apr 21, 2008

Gosh, we just did little fun routines. This is a whole different thing when you get to competitions. I am chicken and hope my kids don't want to be a part of it.

browneyes · Apr 21, 2008

Gosh, that is so sad. My daughter was a cheerleader in high school and even did the "competition" thing. It is getting very competitive these days. I really have more respect for cheerleaders after watching my daughter practice her heart out. She is very small and always ended up on top or in the air...scared me to death.

englishleigh · Apr 21, 2008

This is so sad. My daughter and I loved watching "Cheerleader Nation" on Lifetime about the Dunbar HS squad from Lexington, KY who win Nationals every year...it was really amazing but I was always thinking I'd be so frightened if my daughter was out there, especially if she was a "flyer", one of the girls like Browneyes' daughter was.

Beyond Belief · Apr 21, 2008

Sad isn't the word for this. No child should die when competing in sports. My best to her family and teamates.

CarpeDiem · Apr 21, 2008

All sports have moments where everything can change in an instant, this was one of those freak accidents. I'll be praying for them.

My daughter is a soccer goalie, and it scares me, she plays on a classic team and is one of the few that wears head gear - I hope that begins to change. Once they get to 12 or so those balls fly so hard and so do the feet and even though it's illegal to keep kicking once the goalie has it in their hands, we've seen kids kicking up by the head, we've seen concussions from collissions in front of the net. I try and decrease the risk as much as possible.

It's going to be hard for the girl that kicked her teammate/friend accidentally, to ever get over this.

Taximom · Apr 21, 2008

Yeah, even with our kids in Little League we have bat and ball incidents that could be fatal.

Filly · Apr 22, 2008

Oh no. This poor kid. Poor family. I can't even imagine the pain these people are experiencing. Cheerleading is a sport. They need better guidlines and safety measures. This has been a huge issue in the past ten years or more. Yep, accidents can happen in any sport. Unfortunately this poor kid was involved in a fatal one. TM, I'm like you back in the day. Still I had two concussions, and ruptured two discs over the years. We paracticed without mats. I hate when guys say this isn't a sport and it's just a bunch of screaming chica's. Prayers for this dear family and this young girl.

philamena · Apr 22, 2008

This is every parents and probably every cheerleaders worst fear, besides falling that is.
Prayers to the victims family and friends.

Kim Ii · Apr 22, 2008

Yikes, my niece is a cheerleader/swimmer...so was my Mom in her day. She used to say that she couldn't believe how different cheerleading was when my sister was a cheerleader, but jeez, it's even scarier now then it was back in the 70's. The routines they do now are just amazingly difficult and scary...

Wow...all it takes is that one moment in time for an accident to happen.

My heart goes out to this girl's family. What a horrible thing to have happened.

ember · Apr 22, 2008

I coach sideline cheerleading and competitive cheerleading and am here to tell you that it is so much more dangerous than people think. We've had flyers (the ones that are tossed into the air) fall on their head and back and everything else. Luckily there has only been some stiffness afterwards and no significant injuries. Scares me to death when it happens...but those little girls just get up and keep on trucking. We now have safety breifings before practice and stress the point that the bases must not step out of the mound, they must catch their flyer at all cost! It is not just the rah, rah, rah of the past. Hopefully someday cheerelading will get the recognition it deserves for being a true sport.

I feel so bad for this family. I hope they can heal.

kahskye · Apr 22, 2008

How sad for the family. My niece competed in cheerleading all through school and I can't imagine any family having to lose their dd to what should be a fun day. Prayers to the family.

lisag · Apr 22, 2008

Very sad....

Kim Ii · Apr 22, 2008

Ember,

I am certain that everything you've stated is true. But I have to admit, I LOVE to watch the cheerleading competitions! BUT...with one caveat...the DANCE ROUTINES...not necessarily the most difficult ones...but just to watch the absolute precision and the timing...i LOVE that.

This other stuff, the devil may care, do or die stuff...I really wish they'd stop this! Why is this necessary? We're pushing these kids to the extreme, and for what purpose? The thrill? To me, the risks just do not outweigh the amazement in watching...

I'm just glad my nieces haven't been harmed too much, although I hear tell my niece had an ankle injury which was pretty bad. I realize there are risks in every sport and it's up to each individual to determine how far they want to go with those risks.

But sheesh...when is it too much? We seem to leaning towards no boundaries and anything goes these days.

My heart really goes out to this family. It's one thing (and a terrible one at that) when you lose a loved one to a car accident or some other horrendous thing, but this...this is almost just too much, because it didn't have to happen. It could have been prevented...:twocents:

MistyM · Apr 22, 2008

medically i wonder how bad it was to have killed her? i've known people whose lungs have collapsed and they survived. i can't believe she died the next day. what kind of complications did she have? this is so sad and weird. sometimes you just wanna put your darn kids in bubbles and keep them safe. i hate it when these freak accidents happen.

crypto6 · Apr 22, 2008

MistyM said:
medically i wonder how bad it was to have killed her? i've known people whose lungs have collapsed and they survived. i can't believe she died the next day. what kind of complications did she have? this is so sad and weird. sometimes you just wanna put your darn kids in bubbles and keep them safe. i hate it when these freak accidents happen.

Right. Probably more to it than just a pneumothorax (PTX) also called collapsed lung, which should give enough time warning to fix.

If she had a direct heart muscle injury a rhythm disturbance is a possibility. I'd like to hear more of the details. Bad situation for all involved: the guilt of the friend who kicked her; the loss to family, other squad members, and her school; and the pain of life-long second-guessing from the docs who couldn't save her.

C6

Texana · Apr 22, 2008

MistyM said:
medically i wonder how bad it was to have killed her? i've known people whose lungs have collapsed and they survived. i can't believe she died the next day. what kind of complications did she have? this is so sad and weird. sometimes you just wanna put your darn kids in bubbles and keep them safe. i hate it when these freak accidents happen.

There was a neighbor child several years ago who died (fell unconscious and could not be revived) after a kicked soccer ball hit him in the chest. The autopsy showed no sign of a heart defect, but clearly, the blow to the chest had caused his sudden death.

It appears now that if the heart receives a hard enough blow at a certain point in its cycle, it will just stop entirely. It has to happen at just the right time with just the right force, but it can kill a person.

My prayers and thoughts go out to the families involved.

CarpeDiem · Apr 22, 2008

MistyM said:
medically i wonder how bad it was to have killed her? i've known people whose lungs have collapsed and they survived. i can't believe she died the next day. what kind of complications did she have?

I haven't heard anything about her complications, but I have assummed she suffered a massive heart attack when both lungs collapsed.

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