{"id":15004,"date":"2018-08-31T14:58:21","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T14:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/08\/31\/some-things-are-more-important-than-football\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:48:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:48:23","slug":"some-things-are-more-important-than-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/08\/31\/some-things-are-more-important-than-football\/","title":{"rendered":"Some things are more important than football"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ARNOLD, Md. \u2014 Navy<\/a> offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper can concentrate fully on football this summer, a luxury he does not take for granted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year ago, Jasper endured a six-month ordeal in which his son was hooked up to a life-support system following a problematic heart procedure. After fighting to survive, Jarren Jasper received an artificial pump and finally underwent a heart transplant in late January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early in the process, Ivin considered skipping the entire 2017 season. With his son\u2019s blessing, each day the longtime assistant coach went to practice and then immediately joined his wife and the teenager in the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having endured all that, the 48-year-old Jasper is back on the sideline, working to hone Navy\u2019s triple-option attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis time a year ago, our lives changed,\u201d Jasper said. \u201cNow we\u2019re in a good place. I\u2019m in camp now, full-time, among the guys and coaching staff. Football\u2019s back. It\u2019s a great time of year for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Especially for 15-year-old Jarren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m in a good place right now,\u201d Jarren said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A photo showing Jarren Jasper’s old heart that was removed during a transplant sits in his family’s living room in Arnold, Md. The Jaspers endured a six-month ordeal that ultimately ended with Jarren getting a heart transplant late last January. All is well now with the Jaspers, although the memories of what they endured won’t ever fade. (Patrick Semansky\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jasper\u2019s wife, Donna, still has difficulty talking about her son\u2019s battle for his life, which began after Jarren surprisingly flunked a routine physical before trying out for the football team at Broadneck High School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was just like a horrible dream that you wanted to wake up from and couldn\u2019t,\u201d she said, her voice cracking with emotion as tears ran down her face. \u201cHe came in there and had a teddy bear in his hand. Next thing you know, he almost died.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sitting between his mom and dad on the living room couch in their home, Jarren insists he won\u2019t let his past have an effect on his future. He\u2019s preparing for his sophomore year at Broadneck and is serving as manager of the football team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter I got my transplant, I knew I\u2019d be a normal kid,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His father, however, may never be the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s my hero,\u201d Ivin said. \u201cBeing a normal kid and then having his life change and to be so strong, there are no words that can describe what he\u2019s done for me. My bad days are nothing compared to what he\u2019s gone through. I\u2019ve learned a lot. It puts things are in perspective. He\u2019s my rock. He\u2019s an example for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jarren Jasper sits on a couch in his family’s home in Arnold, Md. (Patrick Semansky\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The turmoil began in July 2017, when a specialist determined that Jarren\u2019s heartbeat was normal when he exerted energy but accelerated when he was at rest. On Aug. 4, Jarren was poised to undergo a cardiac ablation procedure at Children\u2019s National Medical Center<\/a> in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was told, \u2018He\u2019ll be in and out of here and he can go back to playing,\u2019\u201d Donna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That morning, Ivin sent Jarren a text that read, \u201cYou\u2019ll be fine. You\u2019re strong.\u201d His son sent back a thumbs-up emoji.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The coach still has that exchange on his cellphone, a reminder that things do not always go as planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donna was in the waiting room with her daughter, Dallas, when a nurse rushed in and said something had gone wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore I knew it, they told me his heart had stopped and it took 31 minutes to resuscitate him,\u201d Donna recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ivin rushed to the scene, and Donna\u2019s frazzled state told him everything he needed to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA nurse comes in and says, \u2018We\u2019re doing all we can for him,\u2019\u201d Ivin said. \u201cNormally when you hear that, someone is fighting for their life. What happened? It was in the blink of an eye. Our lives changed when his life changed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jarren was hooked up to an ECMO machine<\/a>, which is similar to the heart-lung bypass machine used in open-heart surgery. It pumps and oxygenates a patient\u2019s blood outside the body, allowing the heart and lungs to rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As his parents watched in horror, Jarren finally stirred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe relief came when he started to come to and responded to my voice,\u201d Ivin said. \u201cHe reached up and hugged me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jasper, an assistant at Navy since 2002 and offensive coordinator since 2009, was going to take the season off. Jarren insisted otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018Dad, I want you to coach. I\u2019ll be fine. I\u2019m going to get through this,\u2019\u201d Ivin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So he began the routine of going to work in the morning and driving to the hospital after practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ivin was at the Naval Academy when yet another problem arose: An air bubble in the ECMO machine, which could cause a heart attack if it got into Jarren\u2019s bloodstream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan was to detach the machine for 14 seconds and get the bubble out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I sat on the couch, and that 14 seconds turned to 1 minute, then 2 minutes,’ Donna said. \u201cThey had the paddles in twice. That\u2019s when I knew his heart function wasn\u2019t going to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, doctors determined that Jarren would likely require a heart transplant. Until a heart became available, they suggested implanting a left ventricular assist device, or LVAD, a battery-operated, mechanical pump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jarren was finally released from the hospital in October, in time to accompany his mother to Navy\u2019s big game against Air Force in Annapolis, Maryland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a good day. It felt good to be going to games again,\u201d Jarren said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t