Former MLB player’s son now on life support after being hit in face by baseball
USA TODAY SPORTS
Alec McQuade, 11Alive Sports
7 hrs ago
© Provided by USA Today Sports Media Group LLC File photo
ATLANTA - The son of former Atlanta Braves infielder Keith Lockhart is on life support after getting hit in the face by a baseball last Saturday.
EARLIER: Former MLB player's son seriously injured after being hit in face with baseball
Lockhart's son, Jason, is 15 years old. Jason's sister, Sydney, has been posting updates on her public Facebook page and has confirmed the updates with 11Alive. "He is going to be okay we just don't really know when. It has been crazy," Sydney told 11Alive on Sunday. "We are surrounded by so many people and we are feeling the prayers."
Jason was playing at a baseball tournament in South Carolina. During a play in which he was running to home plate, he stepped on the plate as the catcher was throwing the ball back to the pitcher. The ball hit Jason in the face. It broke his nose, and Jason needed stitches.
After recovering on Sunday, Jason's nose began bleeding while at the doctor's office on Monday. The bleeding would not stop, and after he was taken to urgent care, he was transported to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite. A CT scan eventually showed the fracture was worse than realized and there was a tear inside his nose, which eventually they would identify as a laceration on his artery. On Tuesday, Jason had surgery to stitch the inside of his nose while resetting his broken nose bone.
After discovering it was an artery that had been torn, they sedated him for two days since he was uncomfortable with pain. However, the slightest movements- such as a cough- would cause massive bleeds that would not stop. On the 21st, Jason was put on a ventilator to help his body rest while it healed. But the bleeding continued.
By Friday, doctors put him on life support and sedated him to a "paralytic level" so they could monitor and contain any bleeding. They determined all bleeding was, in fact, in the nose and not coming from his brain.
Jason was scheduled to have surgery on Monday to remove the tubes and remove packing in his nose. They are also doing more x-rays and tests to see if they can identify where more bleeding is coming from and if the platelets levels are sufficient to help with clotting. Sydney told 11Alive that Jason was in surgery on Sunday, but he will likely be on the ventilator for a few more days.
The family has not set up any funding pages. All they ask is for continuing prayers.
"I can't begin to tell you how strong Jason has been, and how much fright he has experienced along the way that he blew us away with his strength and focus to get through some of the scares in this process," Jason's mother said in a post on Sydney's Facebook page. "Thank you for those that have sat with us in the middle of the night while Jason was in surgery, prayed with us, cried with us, distracted us, brought food and snacks, and the many texts and emails full of scripture, love, prayers, or anything on your hearts to reach out to us."
Poster Comment:
The boy needs to learn to duck a cookie pitch.