Ghost Pirates player released from hospital after suffering injury during game

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Savannah Ghost Pirates player, Marshall Moise, was discharged from the hospital Saturday night.

The team says Moise went back first into the boards during their game against Jacksonville.

During Ghost Pirate’s practice Tuesday, coaching staff painted an improving picture for Moise.

“It’s pretty good head trauma, but he’s functional. He’s back at his apartment, talking and doing well,” Ghost Pirates Head Coach Rick Bennett said.

Moise was taken to Memorial hospital during Saturday’s game after a hit sent him back first into the boards. Team medical staff say they wanted to make sure Moise was still immediately after the hit as a precaution for his spine.

“The call for spinal immobilization happens due to the fact that he had some loss of consciousness. So, at that point, we’re not able to what is termed ‘clear’ the cervical spine which is what you’re concerned about in those types of situations. It wasn’t necessarily that he had any spinal pain, but it was more the fact that he couldn’t tell what was going on,” athletic trainer Dillon Campbell said.

We now know the forward suffered a concussion and went unconscious during Saturday’s game. Moise’s injuries come amid growing attention on player health following the cardiac arrest of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin after a hit during Monday Night Football.

Even though the injuries are different, team staff say there’s a risk in any contact sport.

“We saw that on Saturday night here locally, and we saw it nationally last night on Monday Night Football. That’s a risk that these players are willing to take in order to pursue a passion of theirs and a dream of theirs and fulfill that level of competition that they have in them,” Campbell said.

The Ghost Pirate’s athletic trainer says he’s been in situations with patients suffering cardiac arrest. He says each moment is crucial in treating the player.

“Your first thought is ultimately for the player and the patient that is going through that hard situation. But secondly, you have to think about the first responders and the athletic trainers and the doctors that are taking care of them because there is a burden that lies on them to make sure they’re providing the best care possible,” Campbell said.

Back at practice, the Ghost Pirates are hoping to overcome a slew of other injuries throughout the Las Vegas organization that coaches say has made play complicated.

“We’ve been hit pretty hard here with call ups, which is a good thing and a bad thing. It’s good in the fact that the guys here, that’s our job as coaches is to develop these guys for the next level. The bad, sometimes it’s going to hurt your win/loss record,” Bennett said.

Ghost Pirates medical staff say they have a written emergency action plan. After each time the plan is activated, the team reviews the response and looks for improvements.

While staff here says the plan was followed at Saturday’s hockey game, they expect plans nationally to change in the wake of what happened at Monday night’s Bill’s game.

The Ghost Pirate’s athletic trainer says the best way to protect players is to have medical staff on hand at both professional and high school sporting events.

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