Strides for Injured Li’l Leaguer

The 12-year old New Jersey boy whose heart stopped briefly when a line drive slammed into his chest during a baseball game sat up in bed for the first time – marking the most significant step yet in his amazing recovery.

Steven Domalewski was pitching in a Police Athletic League game last month in Wayne, N.J., when he was injured.

“I have good news,” Dr. Philip DeFina, head of the International Brain Research Foundation, told the Daily News. “Steven sat up in bed.”

“He even ate Italian ice that his parents fed him,” said Lorraine Cancro, development director of the foundation.

The young Yankees fan was being comforted by his parents, Joseph and Nancy, who have been beside him constantly as he fights back from a rare form of cardiac arrest, called commotio cordis.

Only about 15% of the 170 patients known to have suffered from commotio cordis recover, experts say. The potentially lethal condition usually happens during sporting events, mostly among children because their hearts are not as well protected against blows as adults.

Steven has been making small steps toward recovery since the freak accident on June 6. The swelling around his chest subsided within a few days. He then opened his eyes and wiggled his toes about a week later.

He also got a boost earlier this month from his baseball hero, Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod called the boy’s father before taking the field for a game against the Cleveland Indians.

Source: NY Daily News