by Matt Paulson
Editor in Chief
Both teams perched on one knee resting their body weight on their helmets. Their concerned gaze from the end zone fixed steadily on their fallen comrade across the gridiron on the far 30-yard line. Rollie Dykstra had lapsed into unconsciousness and was being loaded into an ambulance.
Many fans, trainers, coaches and players can vividly recall clutching one another, wondering, anxious to hear any word on what was happening. Tears fell in fear and shock. This was not the type of Homecoming anyone had expected.
It’s been more than a year since Dykstra slumped into a roughly four-week coma as a result from a goal-line hit suffered with 14:10 remaining in the second quarter of last year’s Homecoming game against the University of Redlands, and, according to his family, his progress has been slow but reassuring.
“The biggest problem is physical,” Roland Dykstra, Sr., said. “It’s like being a baby again. He has to relearn his body.”
Apart from being legally blind, Dykstra suffers from less than full control of his left side. He has trouble relaxing his muscles, a condition known as dystonia, which should be remedied by an Intrathecal Baclofen pump Dykstra received Monday.
In the ITB procedure, a catheter is inserted underneath the lining of the spinal chord where the cerebrospinal fluid is circulating, according to Dr. Shokei Yamada at Loma Linda University Medical Center. It is generally used for a patient experiencing muscle spasms.
The catheter is connected to the ITB pump, which is implanted under the skin around the waist area in the patient’s front. The pump, which must be refilled every 90 days, emits extremely low dosages of baclofen directly to the area of the body in which it is needed.
Baclofen is generally received orally, but the pump is much more efficient, as it uses about 1 percent the amount of baclofen to achieve the desired results, said Pat McDonnell, therapy consultant, movement disorders at Medtronic.
“It is efficient to control the pain,” Dr. Yamada said.
Roland Dykstra holds high hopes for the ITB pump.
“Hopefully, he’ll be able to walk again,” he said. But, for right now, “that’s a big ‘If’. At this point, nobody knows.” Presently, Dykstra remains confined to a wheelchair.
The surgery, which went successfully, should yield results within three to six months, Roland Dykstra said.
Dykstra also lacks sufficient confidence in his body movements. Roland Dykstra likened it to a stroke, as Dykstra does not possess full control so he does not want to use certain parts.
“It’s what keeps him from walking and doing normal stuff,” Roland Dykstra said.
The Dykstras are preparing for Rollie’s return home from the Center for Neuro Skills in Bakersfield, where he went last March.
Dykstra’s return is scheduled tentatively for late December.
“We’re really looking forward to that,” Roland Dykstra said.
“Being home could do a lot of magic and wonders to him,” said Maria Dykstra, Dykstra’s mother.
To prepare for Rollie’s homecoming, the Dykstras had to install an addition to their two-story home. At CNS officials’ request, a first-floor room was added that boasts accompanying handicapped facilities such as a shower and full bathroom, as well as two easily accessible exits in case of emergency. The addition, because it was “medically prescribed,” said Roland Dykstra, was covered mostly by National Collegiate Athletic Association insurance.
Dykstra’s return is a welcome gift, as the Dykstras had been commuting to Bakersfield every week to see Dykstra and receive education on his condition.
“They train us how to handle him,” Roland Dykstra said.
These weekend trips, said Maria Dykstra, have been bittersweet.
“He’s so happy; he’s so comfortable when we’re there, but when I leave, it’s just very hard for him and for me,” she said. “I’m just struggling every day. It’s killing me to have him away.”
Usually accompanying the family to Bakersfield is Kayley Marie, Dykstra’s 4-year-old daughter. Because of Dykstra’s blindness, he asks his mother to hold Kayley Marie up to him so he can feel how big she is getting.
“That really breaks my heart,” Maria Dykstra said. “It’s hard for me to believe that he cannot see, that he cannot walk.”
Apart from his physical ailments, Dykstra is doing well mentally. CNS has gotten him within 90-100 percent of where his long-term memory was, Roland Dykstra said. His short-term memory, however, is the biggest mental issue.
His family can be talking to him, and “two minutes later, he can’t remember what you said,” Roland Dykstra said.
The hit that started it all happened Oct. 19 on an option in which Dykstra was hit by Bulldog senior Scott Murtishaw.
Dykstra was shaken by the hit and was helped off the field by Head Athletic Trainer Jim May and freshman offensive lineman Jon Marty. About five minutes later, Dykstra collapsed on the sidelines and began convulsing. The game clock ran for roughly another six minutes before play was halted.
Maria Dykstra generally works on Saturday and was not at the game, but she was just about to leave with Kayley Marie to meet her husband there when Roland Dykstra contacted her in tears.
When informed of the news, Maria Dykstra began “screaming and crying my lungs out, and my husband was already crying and saying, ‘He looks pretty bad,’” she said. “I was screaming and crying out to God, saying ‘please leave him.’ For some reason, in a way, I was glad I didn’t make it.”
Roughly 33 minutes after being assisted off the field, Dykstra was rushed by ambulance to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center as his body clung to life.
Around four weeks later, according to Roland Dykstra, Dykstra emerged from the coma. On Nov. 11, his brother’s birthday, Dykstra whispered his first words: “Happy birthday.”
“Slowly, he started talking more and more and more,” Roland Dykstra said.
Eventually, he was transferred to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he received acute therapy. On March 11, Dykstra moved up to CNS in Bakersfield, where he continues to battle his ailments.
“He’s a fighter,” Roland Dykstra said. “He’s strong and brave. He’s going to do his best. We wish it didn’t happen, but it did happen, so we have to live with it. We’ve done the best with the situation.”
Maria Dykstra takes comfort in the fact that things could be worse.
“Just be happy that I have him there to hold him and to hug him,” she said.
Currently, legal action is pending. Roland Dykstra refused to comment, and attorney Martin Cervantes was unable to be reached for comment.
Shortly after the accident, it was rumored that Dykstra had a pre-existing concussion suffered Oct. 5 against Cal Lutheran. Roland Dykstra confirmed those rumors in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
