Revere Health Sends Patient to BYU/Michigan Game

OREM, UT – September 22, 2015 – Revere Health, as part of a sponsorship with Comcast, will send a patient to the BYU vs. Michigan game in Ann Arbor on September 26, 2015. Jared Roy, an 18-year-old patient at Orem Family Medicine was chosen because of his love of BYU football and his recovery from a concussion and traumatic brain injury that ended his high school football career.

In February 2014, the day before his 17th birthday, Roy was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle. His airbag did not deploy, and even though he was wearing a seatbelt, his head struck the steering wheel, rendering him unconscious. He was transported to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center to undergo testing to determine the severity of the damage to his frontal lobe.

“We had no idea at the time how this accident would change his life,” Kimberly Roy, Jared Roy’s mother, said. “Following the accident, the doctors told us it would take some time for his brain to heal.”

Jared Roy was beginning his senior year at Timpview High School and planned to start on the football team. In August 2014, Roy visited the concussion clinic expecting to be cleared to play, having spent the summer avoiding contact with his head and following instructions.

“The conversation didn’t go how he’d hoped,” Kimberly Roy said. “The long term effects of his traumatic brain injury were unstable, and he wasn’t medically cleared to play. To hear someone tell him ‘you cannot play football anymore’ was devastating for him.”

For Jared Roy, this meant not only were his dreams of playing football in high school prematurely ended, but also his future prospects.

“My goal before I was in my automobile accident was to be recruited to play football at a collegiate level,” Jared Roy said.

Jared Roy is a patient with Orem Family Medicine and said that the physicians worked with him through treatment and made sure he was referred to some of the top centers for concussions and traumatic brain injuries.

“Like many patients who experience concussions or traumatic brain injuries, the extent of their injury is not fully understood initially,” said Todd Seamons, physician assistant at Orem Family Medicine. “In the aftermath of Jared’s accident, it became clear that he needed some additional help to work through his injury. We are fortunate to have an excellent concussion clinic associated with Revere Health.”

He was selected to go to the game because he’s a BYU fan and his positive attitude is an inspiration to the staff at Orem Family Medicine.

“Jared’s accident has been absolutely devastating to him,” Seamons said. “His hard work, dedication, and life’s dream to play collegiate football abruptly came to an end. As a clinic we are very proud of Jared. Even though his football career is finished, he was able to graduate from high school and is looking forward to a bright future ahead.

For Jared Roy, the chance to see BYU play in Michigan is one that is as exciting as it is comforting.

“Having played football at Timpview and being so close to BYU, it would have been a dream to have played there. My family has been season ticket holders for 10 years,” Jared Roy said. “I love the feeling when I go to games.”

For Kimberly Roy and her family, they are taking Jared’s treatment one step at a time.

“We work through things day by day now never knowing what will trigger anxiety attacks or suicidal thoughts,” Kimberly Roy said. “His only safe place is when he goes over to the football field late at night and lies on the 50-yard line.”