The other day I was saying goodnight to Mac as usual by playing the bagpipes at sunset at the Rod and Reel Pier here on Anna Maria Island. As I was playing one of the dads on the pier with his kids came up to me and we talked. I told him the reason I was playing and Mac’s story on sub-concussive trauma and he was sincerely touched and told me he was sorry and thanked me for the information. As he left, one of his friends came up to talk as well. Again, I told him Mac’s story and how we lost him he was listening intently. When I got to the part where he was struggling with mental illness, depression, and possible schizophrenia, he interjected and said, “He internalized it until he couldn’t take it anymore”. I looked at him dumbfounded and he said, “I’m a doctor and I have treated kids for concussions”. He stated that he worked with a group of Doctors that also were knowledgeable about concussions and were doing their best to manage them. We started talking about the impact of long-term exposure of subconcussive impacts and he completely agreed that they were impacting our youth. He told me, “Do you know what I tell parents who bring their kids in for a concussion and repeatedly ask me when the kids can return to play sports? I tell them their kids will return to concussion, not sports”. Wow, I was floored! I mean, here was a Doctor who understood what the risks were for returning too early and the potential for further harm. I told him I was going to use that in my blog this week and he said, “I’m Doctor Springs, from Lake Charles, Louisiana”. We then talked about parents, who without an understanding of the risks, often try to get their children back on the field as soon as possible. In high school, the student-athletes often push just as hard. He stated that he felt that concussion awareness in the medical community was improving and he hoped that we would have some kind of biomarkers or tests, that Doctors could use in the future to approve a child to return to sports. I said that I hoped so for sure. As he left, he thanked me for starting a Foundation to help with healing from the loss of Mac and that he felt that we could change or affect a lot of lives and to keep it up. So, here’s to Mac’s Foundation! It’s these kinds of conversations that I have every day that help me understand the gravity of this issue but also that some folks are trying to deal with it. But until we can change the parental and coaching attitudes surrounding kids and contact sports, I’m afraid that our mission to educate and mitigate this risk will be going on for a while. Please help us do so by getting the word out…