Flicker of Hope for Li’l Leaguer

WITH HIS FAMILY praying that he rallies from a freak ballgame accident that stopped his heart, a New Jersey Little Leaguer was showing “flickerings of hope” yesterday.

Steven Domalewski remained in a coma, but continued to display the feisty spirit that has made him an ace pitcher at the age of 12.

“We just don’t know yet. . . . I just need prayers for him right now,” said Steven’s exhausted dad, Joseph Domalewski.

The Wayne, N.J., all-star collapsed on the mound after taking a line drive to the chest Tuesday night during a Police Athletic League game.

Thanks to the quick response of spectators, including a dentist, who conducted CPR until paramedics arrived, Steven’s heart was restarted. But his recovery has been touch and go, his family said.

“Every day he’s a miracle to us,” said Steven’s aunt Marie Fullerton.

“We only get flickerings of hope,” Fullerton added. “At this point we’re looking at a little boy who looks like he’s asleep.”

The aunt said Steven is getting plenty of encouragement from his elder brother, Jim, and sister, Arlene. His parents are staying around the clock at his bedside at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, only leaving briefly to pray in the hospital chapel.

Doctors said the seventh-grader suffered a rare injury called a commotio cordis, which causes the heart to stop by sending it into an irregular rhythm.

Most victims are young athletes, and only 15% are resuscitated, according to the U.S. Commotio Cordis Registry.

Though uncommon, the injury has sparked debate on whether to equip young athletes with chest protectors to lessen the blow of a baseball.

Source: New York Daily News