Eastbayri.com

BRISTOL — As Brent Millard traded in his baseball spikes for his football cleats a few weeks ago, the memory of the time when his life, nevermind his athletic career, was in peril slips deeper and deeper into the recesses of the mind for most, though it’s still ever-present to his family and those close to the extremely fortunate young man.

Millard, 15 and beginning his sophomore year as a multi-sport athlete at Mt. Hope High School, has lived nearly half his existence with a physical scar from what could have been a very tragic accident, but has shown minimal mental wear as a result. In fact, he has only thrived.

“He’s lucky to be alive,” said Bob Millard Jr., Brent’s father and the Mt. Hope head baseball coach. “I still feel like it happened yesterday. It’s something me and Paula (Brent’s mother) probably won’t ever get over. There’s a reason why he survived.”

Brent and his family lived through a harrowing few days back in 2004. It was a span of time that began innocently enough with Brent and his twin sister Rebecca attending a going-away party for friends of theirs at Haines Park in Barrington and with Bob Millard Sr. lending his son a helping hand.

Shortly thereafter, however, things quickly turned chaotic, leaving Brent in the hospital fighting for his young life.

“I remember when it happened and waking up in the hospital. The rest, I pretty much don’t remember,” Brent recalled recently.

The Story

It happened around Father’s Day in June of ‘04.

Days earlier, Bob Millard was working third shift in his capacity as a Bristol Police officer when his father offered to come to his house to fix a balky garage door.

With young Bob on the job and Paula at home with the kids, Millard Sr. climbed a ladder to tackle the chore but while off the ground he got a bit dizzy and fell, his head and side striking the cement floor below. He was taken to the hospital with a concussion and a fractured collarbone. The elder Millard remained there overnight with Bob Jr. and Paula by his side.

Up all evening and obviously not anticipating what would occur, the Millards innocently allowed parents they knew escort Brent and Rebecca to the going-away party where the near-tragic accident would take place.

Mixing with some older children, Brent was struck in the head with an errant swing of a wooden baseball bat. Initially he showed no signs of injury. He continued to play and act as normal as possible under the circumstances.

Meanwhile, after getting some much-needed rest, Bob Jr. and Paula went to the park to retrieve their kids at the event. They were made aware of what had happened, but no one had any idea of the severity of the incident.

“When we picked him up, they told us there was a little accident, he was hit in the head, but he was fine,” said Paula. “The parents there said he didn’t cry. He didn’t say anything.”

Serious situation

With Brent apparently O.K. and needing to get their grandfather a Father’s Day gift, the Millards left the party behind, piled into the car and went off to the Target store in nearby Seekonk.

The family continued its trek from the store over to their grandparents’ house in Cranston. There they found their beloved “Pa” in good stead, they ate together and stayed for a while before heading back to Bristol.

A few hours after they got home, Brent did say he had a headache, but continued to display no outward signs of injury. At one point during the night, Paula, unknowingly, didn’t help the situation by giving Brent a Motrin pill. She would find out later ibuprofen-based products increase the risk of bleeding.

Later, Brent came to his parents’ bedroom, saying his head hurt. He lay with them for a while longer before announcing at about 1 a.m. he didn’t want to play in his baseball game the next morning.

“Brent was the type of kid who would have his uniform on at 5 o’clock in the morning the day of the game, so right there we knew something was seriously wrong,” said Bob.

Signs that something was awry, in fact, shortly began to show themselves when Brent awoke, got sick and vomited. Paula immediately called her pediatrician for an appointment, which was set for 10 a.m. There, the doctor put Brent through a few tests and suggested he be taken to Hasbro Children’s Hospital for a cautionary CAT scan but that he would be fine.

Chaos

Once at Hasbro, there remained no sense of urgency. Brent went through more tests and the possibility of not needing the CAT scan was proposed, but one was finally done. The Millards then took their place in the waiting room where Brent lapsed in and out of sleep. It was about that time when the situation became frantic.

Having seen the results of the scan, doctors swarmed on Brent. His parents were told he needed emergency surgery for a frontal epidural hematoma. An epidural hematoma is a build up of blood that occurs between the skull and the outer membrane of the central nervous system and is among the deadliest of all head injuries. The blood fills the brain area rapidly, compressing the tissue. Surgery is needed to reduce the pressure.

“We found out after if he didn’t have the surgery within an hour, he probably would have been dead,” said Bob.

Paula added: “The surgeon said he didn’t know how he survived that long. He should have been dead hours earlier.”

Far from out of the woods, Brent remained in intensive care for the next few days. The fourth day following the surgery is when things took a turn for the better. Brent was very responsive, played a game of “Rock, Paper, Scissors” and was aware of his surroundings.

“He seemed to turn the corner just like that. Something or someone was looking out for him,” said Paula, who credits her late father, Ed Mastriano, as being his grandson’s guardian angel.

Recovery

Brent emerged from the hospital with 36 staples securing the incision needed to close his scalp after surgery. He was supposed to refrain from strenuous activity, including sports, for at least three months.

Later in the summer, his gradual return to athletics began with baseball. Understandably a bit weary of being hit, Brent was skittish on the diamond at first. Bob credited Jon Burke, director the East Bay Baseball Academy in town, for helping his son overcome his trepidation.

In the fall, Brent would not play, but would be with his father on the sidelines for Bristol Mustangs Pop Warner football games. He would make what was supposed to be only an informal appearance late in the last game of the season at defensive safety well away from the action, but he instinctively got into the fray by making a tackle.

“I knew right there he was back,” Bob said, relieved at the time when Brent jumped up quickly after making contact.

Aftermath

The lessons the Millards want others to learn from their ordeal are to take all head injuries extremely seriously, avoid ibuprofen-based medicines if one occurs and to seek medical attention as quickly as possible.

Brent’s plight became a case study for neurosurgeons as they dissected how he could have survived and thrived following such a violent injury to his head. His story now has become a case of persistence and perseverance.

Because of the accident, Brent has some issues with his sight. Epidural hematomas can also impact the spine and Brent needs to occasionally see a chiropractor for adjustments. So far, he’s never had and shows no signs of suffering from seizures which are often a lingering after-effect of the type of injury he received.

“For him to compete at the level he does now is miraculous,” said Bob. “He never complains, never uses it as an excuse. And I think that’s a credit to him.”