9-year-old Tyson Hernandez is from Bullard, Texas. According to his mother Brittani Hernandez, he’s been playing baseball since he was just three.
During the first inning of opening day, Tyson was on second base attempting to steal third. He was sliding feet first into the base when he was hit in the chest with the ball.
His dad, Armando Hernandez Jr., is a coach on the team. He ran over to try and help his son get back to the bench.
“And he took maybe one or two steps and he collapsed on his knees. He made a big sigh like, “huh” and he fell down to his knees. We flipped him over, I was trying to talk to him a little bit and he wasn’t really responding. I heard someone say ‘we have no pulse,'” said Armando Hernandez.
According to Brittani, it wasn’t until the family made it home that they learned of his diagnosis. Doctors had diagnosed it as “commotio cordis.”
“It’s an injury to the chest that throws the heart out of rhythm. Unless there is immediate CPR, or a shock from an AED, usually the person doesn’t come out of the rhythm and it could be fatal. The first thing that came to our mind was Damar Hamlin,” said Brittani.
The family is now pushing for chest plates to be worn by young athletes. The full preventative use hasn’t been entirely conclusive, but medical experts agree that there are certain benefits to wearing them.
“I think people should wear it, so the same thing doesn’t happen,” said Tyson.
The family also thinks that AEDs should be available at every youth sporting event.
CNN Newsource/KLTV/WKRCSat, April 20th 2024
