“Mitchell, where are you? Mitchell, do you know what’s going on? Mitchell, when is your birthday?”
Junior Mitchell Shinnick, a sophomore at the time, couldn’t answer any of these questions asked by hospital doctors. He had just suffered his first of many seizures. Shinnick was making a weird noise according to his mother Karen, which is what made her go up to his room to check on him the night of Dec. 26, 2013.

“It was the scariest thing of my life. Just having that feeling in me that I didn’t know who I was was beyond freaky,” Shinnick said.
After his first seizure, he woke up in the middle of the night to ambulances at his house and his mom with him by his side. What Shinnick didn’t know then was that there were more to come.

After two seizures in August 2014, Shinnick was forced to see a different doctor, one that specialized in head trauma.

This doctor gave Shinnick the electroencephalogram test (EEG) to see where electrical activity was occurring in his brain. The results showed that a scar on the left side of Shinnick’s brain was causing the seizures. When Shinnick falls asleep, it flares up and becomes more active.

This is what doctors believe is the cause of Shinnick’s seizures.

Shinnick has also sustained numerous concussions playing contact sports in the past. Shinnick’s doctors still haven’t found out if the multiple concussions he has suffered are to blame for his seizures. Because of this, Shinnick’s doctors don’t want to run the risk of Shinnick experiencing another concussion in the near future.

After reviewing the test results, and evaluating his physical, which he didn’t pass, Shinnick was advised not to play football by his doctor.

“My doctor was on the edge, but my parents actually had a bigger effect on me,” Shinnick said. “After having so many seizures in only a few months, my parents didn’t want me to play.”

Shinnick decided not to play in the fall 2014 season. He was a varsity linebacker and offensive linemen and was expected to have a key role on the team.
Shinnick admits that not being able to play has been miserable, but he also appreciates everything that all the players, coaches, and parents are doing to help him.

Shinnick suffered a seizure on the bus ride home from the away football game against St. Vincent Pallotti on Sept. 29.

“It was crazy,” junior and varsity wide receiver Josh Payne-White said. “I just saw him walking off the bus, and then he just fell over. It felt like a movie.”

Players and coaches visited Shinnick in the hospital that night around midnight.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been closer with a group of guys,” Shinnick said. “They still include me with everything, and I’m never left out. I can’t thank the guys and coaches enough.”

“It’s kids like [Shinnick] that make me want to coach,” Lewis said.

Shinnick still experiences the same pre-game jitters that players experience when it’s game time. “Even though I’m on the sideline, I still get nervous, I still get excited, and I still get mad,” Shinnick said. “My emotions are the same.”

Shinnick remains optimistic about playing football again next year.

“I’m really excited for [Shinnick] maybe being able to play again. He’s a good kid and he deserves it,” Lewis said.

“I’m ecstatic,” Shinnick said, “I don’t want to jinx it, but I am so excited.”

Alex Rasmussen is a News Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.