Nearly killed by concussions suffered during football, Maple Valley man makes amazing progress

A catastrophic head injury during a junior high football game six years ago made Zack Lystedt a national symbol of the dangers of concussions.

Today, the young Maple Valley man continues to fight to raise awareness and push for changes to keep other kids safe on the field.

Zack wants everyone to know he’s getting better every day. His speech isn’t as clear as he’d like and his memory still escapes him too often, but every day he celebrates a new victory.

“Zackery was able to fully dress himself, minus one shoe, but he still doesn’t have full use of his right arm yet,” says his dad, Victor.

But that is amazing progress considering that he was nearly killed by head injuries he suffered during a football game on Oct. 12, 2006.

During the first half, Zack got a concussion when he hit his head on the ground after a big tackle. He sat out for several plays but his coaches put him back in during the second half and he played the rest of the game, making more tackles.

As he was walking off the field, Zack began shaking his head. Victor knew something was seriously wrong.

“I asked him, ‘What’s up dude?’ And he said, ‘Daddy, my head hurts really bad.’ It got progressively worse, and then he begged me not to set him down,” Victor says. “He started stumbling and then he said ‘Daddy, I can’t see’ and then he collapsed.”

Those were Zack’s last words for nine months. He was on the ground having what looked like seizures but he was actually having multiple strokes.

Zack was airlifted to Harborview where he underwent two emergency brain surgeries. He was on life support for a week and in a coma for two months.

“Back on that day, I would’ve been really scared to hit the fast-forward button to see how my son was going to be because back then, I wasn’t sure if I was going to have a son,” Victor says. “But now, I’m really excited to see where he’s going.”

Zack is 20 years old now and is taking some classes at Bellevue College. He’s still doing 40 hours of physical therapy a week but he’s now able to go “coast to coast” – as his dad calls it – walking from one end of the hallway to the other.

The Lystedts, along with their attorney, Richard Adler, Zack’s doctors, and Dr. Stanley Herring, the team doctor for the Seahawks, have been pushing for changes to make sure other young athletes don’t suffer the same fate.

In 2009, Washington became the first state to pass the Lystedt law which requires athletes under the age of 18 and their parents and coaches to be educated on the dangers of concussions. If a player is suspected of having one, they can only return to play after getting clearance from a health professional.

“You can’t play concussed and think you’re going to be OK,” Victor says. “You might be 99.99 percent of the time, but you wouldn’t want to be that one one-hundredth of a percent, you just don’t want to be there.”

The NFL joined their efforts in 2010, and now there are 42 states with similar laws. He hopes it becomes law in all 50 because it’s saving lives. Since the Lystedt law passed in Washington, Victor says no kids in our state have died because of a return to play concussion.

“I wish this never happened to us but it has,” Victor says. “Now we have a duty and responsibility to help others.”

Zack plans to watch the Super Bowl this weekend and is rooting for Baltimore. His favorite player is Ray Lewis, who has been one of his biggest supporters since they met a few years ago. During their meeting, Lewis told Zack that his courage and strength in the face of adversity are inspirational to him. When Zack gets frustrated, he says he and Lewis exchange texts, and that helps keep him motivated.

“He’s such a good guy, a really good guy to have in your corner,” says Zack.

Even though football injuries nearly killed him, Zack still loves the game. He offers this advice for other kids who play football and other high contact sports.

“Be safe. And if you’re suspected of having a concussion, sit out of that game.”