ESKO, Minn. 鈥� A 15-year-old Esko football player died of natural causes, authorities announced Monday, Oct. 14.
According to the preliminary report from the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office, Jackson Pfister's death was due to congenital heart disease, a condition he had since birth.
ADVERTISEMENT
Jackson, an Esko High 歪歪漫画 student, died after collapsing during his football team's varsity game in Aitkin on Friday. Jackson was taken by ambulance to Riverwood Healthcare Center in Aitkin. He died shortly after.
Jackson entered the game late as the backup quarterback when Esko had a 41-14 lead. With 3:30 left, Esko fumbled the ball on a fourth-and-2 play, and Aitkin recovered it.
A sports announcer from KKIN Radio out of Aitkin said during his broadcast that Jackson had collapsed on the field after the play about 10 yards back from the action, then 鈥済ot up and began to jog back to the sideline when then he just collapsed.鈥�
Both teams returned to their respective sidelines, an ambulance was called, Jackson was taken to the hospital and the game ended there with three minutes left on the clock.
鈥淛ackson was a special young man from a great family. His kindness and compassion for others, combined with his dedication and competitiveness, made him not only a great individual but a great leader among his peers,鈥� said Chad Stoskopf, athletic director for Esko schools. 鈥淥ur entire community is grieving his loss and the outpouring of support from the region and state has been tremendous. Jackson's spirit is with us and we are all better having known him.鈥�
Sports community shows support
An outpouring of support from all over the state has been shared on social media for the Eskomo football team.
Fisher said the support has been amazing.
ADVERTISEMENT
鈥淚 did speak with the family (Monday) and they are very appreciative of all the support coming from the Esko community and the other communities. It鈥檚 just a showing of how much caring and goodwill is out there,鈥� he said.
Esko plays its final regular season game Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. against Crosby-Ironton in Esko. Fisher said the school plans to honor Jackson during the game, but details are still being finalized.
鈥淲ednesday will be another important day for us as we go forward,鈥� Fisher said. 鈥淛ackson was a tremendous young man and a joy to be around. He was an outstanding athlete and an outstanding student. He will be greatly missed by everyone.鈥�
A funeral will be held for Jackson on Sunday. Visitation will begin at 1 p.m. until Mass at 4 p.m. at Queen Peace Catholic Church in Cloquet, followed by a luncheon in the church social hall. Jackson would have turned 16 on Saturday.
An unusual incident
Jackson had a heart defect that required him to have three open-heart surgeries by the time he was 9 years old, according to a 2011 Facebook post by his grandmother Lynn Davidson. What happened to Jackson was unusual.
鈥淚 think this is a very unfortunate situation but also a very, very unusual situation that doesn鈥檛 necessarily carry over to the millions of other student athletes that play sports each year,鈥� said Dr. Chris Latanich, cardiac electrophysiologist at Essentia Health-St. Mary鈥檚 Medical Center in Duluth. 鈥淚 think it needs to be viewed as a very specialized situation in this case.鈥�
Latanich said congenital heart disease is any abnormality of the heart that has been present since birth, ranging from minor issues to life-threatening issues. The likelihood of this occurring in student athletes is very rare, Latanich said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Latanich said parents worried about their children should look for these signs.
鈥淚 think the easiest thing to start with is if your kid has ever passed out, especially during or right around after participating in sports, or complaining of chest pain or shortness of breath that seems out of proportion with what they just did, then they should come and see a pediatrician or cardiologist,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey may need more testing, but it doesn鈥檛 mean they can鈥檛 participate in sports.鈥�
Latanich said if someone does undergo heart surgery or their heart requires surgical repair for a congenital heart abnormality, the recommendation, generally, is that the person should be followed by a cardiologist who specializes in congenital heart disease.
鈥淕enerally, they are followed pretty closely. There may be situations where with what they had, what was done and depending on the outcome, they may have less frequent follow-ups,鈥� Latanich said. 鈥淏ut again, it just depends entirely on what the actual issue was. It could be as frequent as every three months or every five years. Typically, those people are followed very closely by very dedicated specialists in congenital heart disease.鈥�
The Minnesota State High 歪歪漫画 League requires that student athletes have a physical examination performed by a physician every three years to be eligible to play.
The MSHSL bylaws also require a health questionnaire be completed by the student and the student鈥檚 parents or legal guardian. The questionnaire asks about heart health, family heart health and head injuries. There is a section for parents or legal guardians to note any health concerns. If the answer to any of the questions in the questionnaire are marked 鈥測es,鈥� then the student is required to get a clearance note from a physician prior to participation.
ADVERTISEMENT
