Remarkable Return: Bain back to excellence after major brain injury
November 13, 2008 • By Matt McGovern, The Breeze
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Field hockey is an obscure sport in America.
Known simply as “hockey” in many countries, the game plays second fiddle to ice hockey in the United States.
But as unfamiliar as it is to many people, it was completely foreign to Meghan Bain when she reported to JMU’s preseason practices in mid-August.
“I came for preseason and looked at Mel Stefaniak — she’s a senior on the team — and I said ‘Mel, have I always played forward?’” Bain said. “And she was like ‘YES.’ I didn’t remember I played forward.”
The junior had also forgotten how to move on the field and shoot on target after suffering a severe head injury in mid-March that put her in a coma for three days. She remained hospitalized for three weeks after being struck by a car, and says she has no recollection of events until a few days before she was released.
Remarkably, it took Bain just six months to recover to the point where she could play competitively again — after doctors had told her she would need at least a year and a half.
So when Bain was named to the Colonial Athletic Association All-Tournament squad four days ago after JMU’s third consecutive CAA title, it was in many ways incomprehensible.
“You just can’t put it into words,” Meghan’s father, Bryan, said. “It’s gut-wrenching, it’s heart-warming; it’s everything you could possibly imagine. And it’s only compounded by the fact that she’s my little girl.”
A DEBILITATING ACCIDENT
A car struck Bain on March 15 at about 1 a.m. while she was running across Neff Avenue to meet friends. The collision caused a “diffuse axonal injury” to her brain, which is characterized by a high level of debilitation in the patient, a persistent vegetative state and the staggering costs of sustaining the patient’s life.
Because of the nature of her injury, she has no recollection of the events. Her last memory of that night was preparing for a dinner at about 9 p.m.
“From my accident, I don’t remember anything,” Bain said. “So it was kind of like I woke up one day and I was kind of like ‘What’s this scar on my arm?’ Because I have no remembrance of anything.”
After initially being transported to Rockingham Memorial Hospital, Bain was flown by helicopter to the UVA hospital. She was put on a respirator and remained in a coma for three days.
Bain remained unconscious for 10 days, briefly awakening while she was transported in an ambulance to Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital in Pennsylvania on March 25, where she spent two weeks.
Bryn Mawr released Bain on April 7, at which point she returned to her home in Berlin, N.J. She says her first memories since the collision are from this time.
“I don’t remember anything from the night of my accident to a few days before I was being released,” Bain said. “I don’t have any recollection of anything.”
Bain began outpatient care at Drukker Rehabilitation Center in Woodbury, N.J., on April 16. She attended three-hour cognitive therapy sessions twice a week, in order to develop her critical thinking, problem solving and reading comprehension skills.
Field hockey was a distant thought during her early recovery stages.
“When I got home I couldn’t remember word associations,” Bain said. “I was like ‘Mom, when I eat food, where does it go?’ She was like ‘You digest it.’
“Even the little things I couldn’t remember.”
In the midst of all this, Bain was also recovering from a fractured tibia and damaged ligaments in her right knee, which forced her to wear a knee brace and crutches until June 6.
“They locked it shut, so it was straight for a good couple weeks,” Bain said. “And then every time I would go back to the doctors and I progressed, he would change it to 90 degrees, then 50 degrees, then 30 degrees, and then I could actually move with it.”
With less than three months remaining until summer practices began, Bain had yet to run since her accident — much less play field hockey.
But while helping out at a local field hockey camp, Bain ran into John Shea, the Eastern Regional High School track coach. Shea was watching his daughter play, and offered to help Bain work into shape and improve her running form.
She was cleared to begin running July 9, and began training with Shea two days a week. Her journey back to the field had begun.
RETURN TO JMU
With a combination of resolve, strength and immeasurable support from the field hockey community nationwide, Bain completed her recovery in time for training camp.
She was determined not to miss her cousins’ final season. The Walls triplets — Melissa, Lauren, and Ashley — won three state championships with Bain at Eastern Regional High School in Berlin, N.J. before they left for JMU. The group of four began playing together when Bain was in fifth grade, and didn’t lose a game until they came to Madison.
“There was never any doubt in her mind that she wanted to follow them at JMU,” Bryan said. “That’s really what motivated her to come back, is not wanting to miss this last season with her cousins.
“She said she really didn’t care at what level she played or whether she was even be able to step on the field. She just wanted to be part of her cousins’ last season.”
In order to help Bain achieve that goal, her mother took a leave of absence from her job as a teacher at a local middle school, while Bain’s father left his marketing job to help take care of Bain. The financial stress was aided by contributions from across the nation.
“We have received literally hundreds of cards and letters and financial contributions from people all over the country,” Bryan said. “People who know Meghan by reputation but not personally. People who have been bitter rivals. And through the first several months we would just get checks in the mail every day.”
While many patients with her condition require years to get back to a normal state, Bain completed the cognitive therapy program by mid-July. She took a reaction test to reinstate her driving privileges July 26.
The decision to let Bain return to competitive field hockey was difficult for her family at first.
“It was a decision where I, in essence, put my trust in the hands of Dr. Diduch, the team doctor, and asked Meghan’s doctors to turn over her care to JMU,” Bryan said. “Once she was cleared to resume her activities, we just trusted Dr. Diduch and Coach Lucas to decide whether or not to allow Meghan to play.”
Bryan’s trust was well-placed. Though Bain faced a steep learning curve back at JMU, she responded with precocious resolve.
She netted a goal in the second game of the season.
While she didn’t score again until Sept. 28, Bain has seven goals since then — including four in Madison’s last three games.
Her re-emergence could be just what JMU needs to advance past opening-round NCAA tournament action.
“Her aunt was kind of teasing after one of her games, she said “I think Meg’s regained consciousness,’” JMU coach Antoinette Lucas said. “It’s huge for us. Meghan feels better and she feels like she’s back to her super-normal self.”
The Dukes play Saturday against No. 12 Virginia in Winston-Salem, N.C., in the first round of the 16-team NCAA tournament. If the Dukes win, they will play their second-round match Sunday against the winner of the Wake Forest vs. American game.
It could be the last game Bain plays with her cousins — but after all they have been through, that doesnt seem so daunting.
“She’s got to grow up and play by herself,” Lauren said. “There was a last game of high school, so it’s kind of like that same transition in college. So I think she’ll be fine.”
Contact Matthew McGovern mcgovemd@jmu.edu
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