CENTRAL PASSAIC
The presents are waiting for the day he wakes up

Tuesday, August 1, 2006
By MARGARET K. COLLINS , STAFF WRITER

Steven Domalewski turns 13 Wednesday. It will be a difficult birthday for his family. Steven has been in St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Paterson for the nearly two months since a batted baseball hit the healthy young pitcher's chest at exactly the wrong millisecond.

"It has been the longest eight weeks for all of us," said the boy's aunt, Marie Fullerton, who has been staying at the family's home on Wilson Avenue in Wayne since the freak accident happened. "We still don't know what the quality of his life will be."

But family members and a top-notch group of doctors are focusing on how far Steven has come and his steady -- albeit slow -- improvement.

Dr. Philip De Fina and a team of doctors from the Manhattan-based International Brain Research Foundation have committed to restoring Steven's brain functions and are treating him for free.

Steven is the third prolonged coma patient -- and by far the youngest -- that the privately funded foundation has worked with since starting last year. Steven's age is most likely a factor in his accelerated improvement compared with older coma patients, De Fina said.

Doctors say the boy's sight and ability to understand is improving and he's swallowing consistently. For example, this week Steven's eaten bits of Jello pudding -- chocolate and vanilla swirl that he appeared to enjoy.

"He was 90 pounds the day of the accident," Fullerton said. "He's lost weight, but has put some back on and I swear he's growing."

He has defied odds just by surviving.

Steven, a Wayne youngster, was pitching in a township PAL baseball game on June 6 when a batter hit a line drive that struck Steven in the chest. The sudden impact caused a rare condition called commotio cordis. His heart stopped and he had to be revived. Only about 15 percent of commotio cordis patients are resuscitated.

It is unclear how long Steven was deprived of oxygen. After he was stricken, spectators perfomed CPR, but a short time elapsed before emergency responders were called to the scene and used a defibrillator to restart his heart's rhythm. De Fina said Monday his data suggests Steven's brain was without oxygen for 15 to 20 minutes.

In the first weeks after the accident Steven was heavily sedated and comatose. He is now in what doctors call a "mild coma," able to grip cushy toys with his hands and respond to some voice commands but unable to stand on his own or interact.

When Steven, the son of Joe and Nancy Domalewski, may talk and walk again is unknown, De Fina said, but "we know those systems are starting to kick in."

And the family has played a major part in the recovery by staying with Steven around the clock and stimulating him from every angle, doctors said. His mother wears her perfume and his father is constantly moving his son's limbs.

A community fund-raiser to help defray medical expenses is planned for 6:30 p.m. Aug. 10 at Wayne's Packanack Lake clubhouse, 52 Lake Drive west. The gourmet tasting event is being organized by Francesca Kishfy, whose son was catching the night of the fateful game. It is open to the public and there is no entry fee. For more information call 973-694-3016 or e-mail simplefoodbyfran@aol.com.


FAST FACTS

Commotio cordis is rare.

It results from a strike to the heart that stuns it, sometimes resulting in sudden death.

The impact must occur in a millisecond of vulnerability that occurs between heartbeats.

Most incidences have resulted from a blow to the chest by a baseball, but cases have also been reported in other sports such as lacrosse, softball and ice hockey.

Research has shown that most cases involve boys ages 5 to 14, possibly due to still-unhardened chest walls.

The precise number of cases nationwide is not known, but the U.S. Commotio Cordis Registry recorded 128 as of 2001.

Only 15 percent of victims have been resuscitated.

E-mail: collinsp@northjersey.com

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