DISTRICT WANTS TESTS FOR STUDENT ATHLETES.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. - After the death of a boy last summer at football practice, school officials are devising a standardized procedure and clearance form for student athletes to get doctors' approval to play. Raul Ramirez Jr., 17, who was 5-feet-9 and weighed 318 pounds, had not received a doctor's clearance to play football. He was a new student who had enrolled a week before his death Aug. 22 and wanted to go out for the football team. ``They were in the process of trying to get that,'' Muroc Joint Unified School District A unified school district is a school district which includes both primary school (kindergarten through middle school or junior high) and high school (grades 9-12). In Illinois, these districts are called unit school districts. Superintendent Bertha Boullion said. ``All this happened so quickly.'' Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County coroner's officials said the cause of the teen's death was idiopathic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Definition Cardiomyopathy is an ongoing disease process that damages the muscle wall of the lower chambers of the heart. . Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is an excessive thickening of the heart muscle, often an inherited condition, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. The Cardiomyopathy Cardiomyopathy Definition Cardiomyopathy is a chronic disease of the heart muscle (myocardium), in which the muscle is abnormally enlarged, thickened, and/or stiffened. Association. ``Idiopathic'' indicates a disease whose cause is unknown or uncertain. ``The question is, is this something that a sports physical would have found?'' Boullion said. Ramirez was in his second day of football practice before school started for the year and was walking through sprints when he collapsed shortly after 8 a.m. The team held practices in the morning and late afternoon to avoid the hot sun and kept lots of water on hand, district officials said. The temperature at the time Ramirez collapsed reportedly was in the mid-70s, district officials said. Ramirez was taken by helicopter to Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:38 a.m., coroner's officials said. Ramirez was living on the base with his sister, who is in the military. Their parents reside in Texas, district officials said. The district is working to develop a uniform procedure and a district-approved form for students to use to obtain medical clearance. Boullion said she would like a more comprehensive assessment than just a doctor's signature on the form. ``We want to get a district-approved form that students can take to the doctor so that we can have some assurances and feel comfortable that kids have gone through a complete physical,'' Boullion said. Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744 karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com |
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