During Live Oak’s junior varsity game with Gilroy, sophomore Ivana Saarl landed awkwardly on her head with around 10 minutes to go in the match. She immediately grabbed for her neck and GHS assistant Adam Gemar placed his hand between hers and the ground to help stabilize the injury.
The ambulance arrived within five minutes and Saarl was carted into a helicopter, where she was flown to Stanford Medical Center to see a spinal specialist.
“In their judgment, it was to the point where they determined they needed to fly and not drive her there,” JV head coach Christy Musselmann said.
Saarl was conscious the entire way and was telling those around her that she felt the same way she did when she suffered a similar injury while snowboarding a year and a half ago.
“I knew right away,” Musselmann said. “The fall … the landing was really bad. I was immediately worried. She flipped down right on her head. It was like a somersault, but all on the head.”
– Brett Edgerton, Staff Writer
