Welcome back to the Heads ‘N Tales Podcast. In case this is your first time listening to the show, we are in the middle of our 4 part educational series on exertional heat stroke and preventing sudden death in sports with the team at the Korey Stringer Institute. This series is different from most of our previous episodes where we interview athletes from all walks of life and hear their own personal tales of perseverance, so go back and check some of the other stories we feature on the show, I guarantee you will be left feeling inspired.

Episode 40 is part 3 of 4, so if you missed part one and two, I recommend that you go back and listen to Episode 38 and 39. In Episode 38 we not only learned about the history of the Korey Stringer Institute from KSI’s CEO, Dr. Douglas Casa, but we also learned the proper way to diagnose and treat the illness. In addition we heard Gavin Class’ amazing comeback story after he flat lined in the hospital and received a liver transplant due to complications from his heat stroke. In Episode 39, we heard from KSI’s Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Rebecca Stearns. Dr. Stearns taught us about the various educational resources KSI offers on multiple sports health & safety topics. She also shared her own tale of perseverance when she got back to running marathons after suffering from a DVT and pulmonary embolism. We also learn about the importance of hydration in preventing exertional heat stroke. We finished episode 39 hearing from Hunter Knighton who currently plays offensive line for the Miami Hurricanes, but is also the survivor of exertional heat stroke. He spent 12 days in a coma, lost 55 pounds and underwent surgery to repair paralyzed vocal chords. It took him close to 1.5 years to get back on the field. Make sure you take a listen to hear about his tremendous comeback that led to Hunter winning the Capital One Orange Bowl Courage Award after the 2015 season.

In Episode 40 we hear from Dr. Will Adams, Vice President of Sports Safety and Yuri Hosokawa who is both the Director of Communication and the director of Education at the Korey Stringer Institute.

Dr. Adams' responsibilities at KSI include helping state high school athletics associations adopt sport safety policies that meet evidence-based best practices. His clinical experience includes collegiate athletics, secondary school athletics, and mass medical events such as the Boston Marathon, Marine Corps Marathon and the infamous Falmouth Road Race. His research interests include thermoregulation, heat illness, hydration, maximizing sport performance, and the education of preventing sudden death in sport. His recent work has focused on timing considerations in the treatment of exertional heat stroke patients, the treatment, recovery, and return-to-activity from exertional heat stroke, and the effects of hydration and cooling on changes in body temperature during and after intense exercise in the heat. Dr. Adams received his bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2009 and a master’s degree in Exercise Science at the University of Connecticut in 2012.

Yuri Hosokawa serves as the Director of Communication and Education at the KSI. She coordinates the communication and public relation division of the KSI. Without her tremendous efforts, these podcast episodes would not have been possible. THANKS YURI! Her research interests include prevention and education of sudden death in sport, establishing best practices in road race medicine, development of regional-specific heat guidelines and exploring the roles of genetics in the susceptibility of exertional heat strokes. She also serves as an athletic trainer for the Club Sports at the University of Connecticut. She continues to work internationally, serving as a science advisor for Sport Safety Japan, NPO. In this episode, she talks about the difference in athletic training coverage at athletic events between the U.S. and Japan. Ms. Hosokawa received her bachelor’s degree in Sport Sciences from the Waseda University in 2011 and her master’s degree in Athletic Training from the University of Arkansas in 2013.

Yuri and Dr. Adams dive deep into the historical statistics and trends in heat acclimatization policy and also some of the obstacles that they come across regionally throughout the united states when it comes to policy adoption. Yuri also tells the tale of a young athlete named Logan Johnson who survived heat stoke and worked with the KSI staff to get back to playing basketball. The trend of highly motivated athletes pushing themselves to the limits comes up again in this story.

Next week in the 4th and final episode in this series we talk with Dr. Robert Huggins, Vice President of Research and Athlete Health & Safety at the KSI and an athlete who credits him with saving his life at the 2013 Falmouth Road Race.