Quitman ISD athletic trainer Morgan Brown is accustomed to being the person who steps in when an athlete is injured, but at the regional track meet in Whitehouse last spring, the person who needed her help wasn’t an athlete.
Brown was watching Quitman athlete Annabelle Hollinquest compete in the discus May 1 when she heard a commotion coming from the nearby shot put area.
She turned in time to see Ponder ISD Coach Blake Crutsinger struck by a shot put.
Brown knew the host athletic trainer was not nearby and immediately went to help.
“We’re trained in emergency care. Any situation I can help in, I’m going to help,” Brown said.
Crutsinger was unconscious when Brown reached him. With the help of coaches and others nearby, she began stabilizing his cervical spine and applying pressure to a wound on his head while someone called 911.
Another athletic trainer arrived within a few minutes and began assisting Brown.
Crutsinger eventually regained consciousness, but Brown said it was apparent something was wrong. He was not responding normally to questions and became increasingly agitated.
A Ponder coach who knew Crutsinger was able to help calm him while Brown and the other athletic trainer worked to keep him stable until EMS arrived.
“Pretty much all we could do was just try and keep him safe until EMS got there,” Brown said.
Crutsinger suffered a significant brain injury. He was released from the hospital in July and continues outpatient rehabilitation.
Emergency care is one of the five domains of athletic training, and Brown said responding to situations like the one in Whitehouse was drilled into her while she was a student at the University of Central Arkansas.
Her instructors would deliberately create distractions while students practiced emergency procedures, including spraying them with water, blindfolding them or playing loud music.
Brown said she didn’t always understand the need for those distractions during training. At Whitehouse, however, a large crowd quickly gathered around them.
“Every distraction that could have been there was there that day,” Brown said.
Still, Brown knew what needed to be done.
“It’s almost just like I could hear my preceptors’ voice in my head. ‘OK, stabilize C-spine. Check, is he breathing? Check his pulse,’” Brown said.
Brown said emergency care is one area where athletic trainers cannot afford to make mistakes.
“You might misdiagnose something and then find out later it’s a misdiagnosis, or you might give somebody not the best rehab plan. But what you can’t do is mess up emergency care,” Brown said.
While Brown remains calm during an emergency, she said she tends to process what happened afterward.
“I’m locked in until the situation is completely over. Later that night, I’m like, ‘Did I do everything I could have done? Was there anything I could have done better?’” Brown said.
She followed updates from Crutsinger’s wife on social media in the days that followed.
“I was sick to my stomach for days,” Brown said.
Brown had told few people about her role in the incident until Quitman Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Shane Webber recognized her during the district’s athletic banquet.
“I’ve never told anyone. Any athletic trainer you meet, I guarantee you they want to be in the background,” Brown said.
Webber, however, said Brown’s work behind the scenes is a critical part of Quitman’s athletic program.
“Morgan is the true MVP of our athletic program and, honestly, the hardest-working person in our school district. From girls to boys and from junior high to high school, she does it all. She is my right hand and keeps us all in check,” Webber said.
Brown knew from an early age she wanted to work in the medical field. Growing up in Benton, Arkansas, she watched her grandmother work as a doctor and saw how much she enjoyed helping people.
Brown began helping with her school’s football program and later worked under the high school’s athletic trainer. She soon realized the profession combined two things she enjoyed, both health care and athletics.
Brown attended the University of Central Arkansas and initially considered working in collegiate or professional sports. An internship at Conway High School helped her decide she preferred working with younger athletes.
She liked the relationships athletic trainers developed with students and felt she could make more of a difference at the high school level.
“If an athletic trainer misses a day at a high school, there’s a significant gap there. There’s not going to be anyone covering those kids,” Brown said.
That can be especially important in smaller communities, where some students may not otherwise receive care for an injury.
“I want to be someone that people can rely on. Someone that is necessary, that can reach people that sometimes might not be reached if I’m not there,” Brown said.
Brown spent five years at Alba-Golden ISD before coming to Quitman, where she is now in her fifth year.
Her job includes much more than football games. During much of the school year, Brown covers athletic events nearly every night except Wednesday. Even on her night off, she will return to the school if a coach calls about an athlete she thinks needs to be evaluated.
Sometimes, she said, a quick evaluation can give a student or parent peace of mind and prevent an unnecessary trip to the emergency room.
Working with the same students each day also allows Brown to learn how individual athletes normally respond to injuries.
“The biggest thing about athletic training is that relationship. You see the same kids all the time,” Brown said.
Webber said Brown’s approach with students reflects the balance required in her position.
“She is passionate, caring and demanding with our athletes. QISD is beyond blessed to have her with us,” Webber said.
Brown is also sharing what she has learned with students through Quitman ISD’s sports medicine program.
When she arrived at Quitman, Brown had about two student trainers. The program has since grown to around 10.
Students begin at Level 1 and take on additional responsibilities as they gain experience. They learn basic medical terminology, taping, wound care and how to use equipment in the training room. More experienced students can travel with teams when Brown is needed at another event.
“They make my job easier. They can focus on the water, the little stuff, wound care. That helps quite a bit, especially during games when we’ve got three kids injured at once and then there’s somebody that has a bloody nose,” Brown said.
Not all of the students plan to become athletic trainers. Some are interested in nursing or other health care careers, and Brown tries to teach skills they can use regardless of which path they choose.
She also continues to keep up with changes in her own field.
Athletic trainers are required to complete continuing education, but Brown regularly reads new research on sports injuries and treatment.
“I just like to be informed. I want to make sure I am always on top of my game,” Brown said.
For Brown, the job ultimately comes down to helping the students she sees each day.
“If I can help a few kids a day, I’m happy with that. If I felt like I made a difference, then that’s all I want to feel like. I just want to feel like I can help somebody,” Brown said.