Like many of us, Dylan Mello’s family arranged their daily schedules around soccer and hockey games, depending on the season. As the years went by and Dylan’s talents became more evident, thoughts of scholarships and collegiate sports were never far away. But in the middle of his sophomore year, something started to happen that would sideline him for his entire senior year. He didn’t know that his first concussion, suffered during a hockey game in February 2008, would be the start of a future he couldn’t have imagined.

No stranger to injuries, Dylan had suffered his share- a broken hand here, a sprained shoulder there, but none of that prepared him for the suffering brought on by a series of concussions over the course of ten months.

During a soccer game the following June, Dylan suffered his second head injury from an unlikely but devastating source, an arm cast worn by one of his opponents. Banned from play in many leagues, but not in Rhode Island, Dylan was hit so hard he knew instantly he was in trouble. The following eight weeks were a nightmare according to his mother Donna, who said, “We were not sure he would ever recover.” He was dazed, dizzy, had short-term memory problems, migraines, and a variety of other symptoms that even precluded him from holding a summer job. All he could do was rest and wonder when he would recover.

Thankfully, that day came and he was finally cleared to return to play by his family physician. But back on the soccer field six months later he took his third blow to the head from an errant ball during practice, and the nightmare began again. The symptoms returned, this time with a vengeance. Alarmed, Donna took him to see a concussion specialist in Boston, where Dylan was instructed to stop all physical activity, and to limit his cognitive stresses as much as possible, which translated into no video games, texting, or TV. This was not fun.

Today, almost two years after his first concussion, Dylan is still struggling. Although he used to take AP classes, that workload is now out of the question. He has missed nearly all of his soccer college showcases, limiting, if not dashing all hopes for a spot on a college team. Even though he spends a lot of time filling out college applications, he informed his parents a few weeks ago that he may need to take a year off to allow his brain to fully heal. His family and friends are devastated.

For now, Dylan, the star athlete, stays quiet. Except when it comes to concussions. He and his family have become strong advocates for concussion education, and are working tirelessly on two fronts. One, to prohibit anyone wearing an arm cast from participating in any youth soccer game statewide, and two, for Rhode Island to adopt tougher concussion laws such as the Lystedt Law recently passed in WA state.

Donna Mello recently said, “It’s a shame that as a parent, you learn about concussions after your child has been injured. It is absolutely heartbreaking to watch your child suffer like Dylan has. We wish we had known more about this, and perhaps he could have been spared.” This is so true, for so many. (Photo: Louis Walker)