March was National Athletic Training Month but it didn’t go exactly like some local athletic trainers thought it would.
Most local high school sports teams played their last games at the beginning of spring break before suspending activities until April 17. That left athletic trainers without subjects to work on.
But one local group of athletic trainers from Rush Sports Medicine have been moved to the local Rush clinics and screening patients before the come in the door.
In Decatur, Jackson Therrian mans the front door at the Decatur Family Medical Clinic.
“We started on March 18, that was our first date,” Therrian said. “All 14 of us athletic trainers were spread out throughout the Rush clinics to help be on the front line of COVID-19. We got a lot of different people coming in the clinic and we really don’t know who has what but we are trying to take precautions. We are trying to prevent whatever we can prevent with Germ-X, masks and gloves.”
Therrian said he is basically a screener, asking questions and taking temperatures.
“When somebody walks up to the clinic, we have a list of questions that we ask them like have they been outside of Mississippi in the last 14 days and if so, where did they go,” Therrian said. “We ask them if they have been exposed to anyone who has the coronavirus and then if they have been on a cruise ship in the last 14 days. Then we ask them if they have a fever, cough, or shortness of breath. If they say yes to any of those, we give them a mask and gloves. They still get seen. We make sure they Germ-X their hands before they go inside. We check to see if they have a fever or not.”
In Union, David Jones, who covers Union High school and Leake Academy for Rush Sports Medicine. Jones, who has been an athletic trainer for 19 years, said these are extraordinary times that call for drastic measures.
“It’s out of the ordinary, that’s for sure,” Jones said. “We are thankful that Rush is allowing us to do this. I’m just glad to be able to keep my job. Of course, we want to help out. Since school is out, they found us something to do. I never thought we would be without sports, that there would be no sport.”
Jones said he misses the interaction with students but there’s something he misses more than that.
“I miss the sports but I really miss the normal routine,” Jones said. “When this is over with, people won’t take normal for granted for a long time. It’s the routine. Everybody is uneasy. I’ve learned not to take normal for granted. It’s a different experience, going from working with athletes to triaging medical patients. I’ve gone from having a fairly flexible schedule to sitting here all day long. They have been good to me here and thankful for the help.”
Therrian works with East Central Community College and would be in the middle of his busiest time of the year. But now, he spends most of his day isolated as patients trickle in the Decatur clinic.
“It’s different from what we do every day,” Therrian said. “In a time like this, it’s a difficult time. We do what we are asked to do to help out the community and help out to keep from exposing anybody else from this virus. We want to do everything we can do to help the community. We would have started spring football last week. All spring sports would be going on. March and April is usually our busiest time of the year. It’s different for us. It’s something we are not used to but we are making do.”
Both trainers quickly admitted that they were thankful to have a job as some athletic trainers have been laid off since athletics shut down. Jones said there has been some positives come out of the experience.
“I’ve said for a long time that I need to know the people who work at this clinic because I’m in Union all the time,” Jones said. “But I don’t ever get sick or go to the doctor. But it has given me a chance to meet the people here and work with them and build that relationship. If an athlete from Union comes in, now they know me and can call me and tell me what’s going on.”
Therrian said he’s also ready for things to get back to normal.
“It’s kind of weird, you don’t realize how much you miss sports,” Therrian said. “You don’t realize it until you don’t have it to cover. Hopefully everything will get back to normal soon. Hopefully this will go away and we can get back to work.”
