Tere Livingstone's rugby league death leaves heartbreak and ...

Tere Livingstone’s devastated family were told his death was unconnected to a head knock in a previous game, but he left them doubts. And he also left an invaluable gift.

Tere Livingstone’s death in June after a game of rugby league devastated his family and sent shockwaves through the sports community.

While his family don’t blame anyone for what happened to the 32-year-old, they do have questions over how an earlier suspected concussion was handled.

Chloe Withrington was Tere’s partner and is mother to their nearly two-year-old son Nikora. Her voice shakes as she recalls the concern she felt when Tere complained of a thumping headache the day after a head knock during a game for his club the Pāpāmoa Bulldogs.

“You’ve got a concussion you don’t mess around with that and he was just a very classic Kiwi bloke, blasé. Oh it’ll be fine, whatever.”

But Tere was not fine. He was too sick to work on Monday and on Tuesday, and so on Wednesday he made an appointment with a GP who was so concerned she called him twice that week, after hours. The GP later told Tere’s family she had advised him not to play again for four weeks.

A collection of precious memories of Tere as a league player, partner and dad. (Source: 1News)

What torments Chloe is that, at the time, Tere didn’t pass that information on to her. “Knowing that he shouldn’t have been [playing] anyway and that he didn’t take the advice seriously is really hard to grapple with,” she says.

By the end of the week following his head knock, Tere said his symptoms were easing and he was feeling fine, so he wanted to return to play. But it wasn’t until the following Saturday, two weeks after his suspected concussion, that Tere pulled his boots on again for what would turn out to be his final, fatal match.

On her way to the game at Tauranga’s Mitchell Park, with Nikora strapped into his car seat, Chloe got the call letting her know that Tere had been injured just a few minutes after kick-off. He’d collapsed and had a seizure.

“They had tried to resuscitate him on the side of the field, he was still breathing on his own at that point.”

At Waikato Hospital his mother Robin was initially told his prognosis was good.

“They were talking about him coming up to Auckland, to some rehab place in Henderson. And then less than 24 hours later, they’re saying his brain is dead.”

Tere Livingstone with partner Chloe Withrington. (Source: Supplied)

Chloe says Tere’s surgeons were adamant. “We asked them a million times, does this have anything to do with the previous head knock? And they were very certain that it didn’t.”

But Robin has doubts. “I think the two were linked. It’s just gut feeling, I go with gut feeling.”

Second Impact Syndrome - a controversial theory

We asked Te Whatu Ora about this possible link but they wouldn’t comment citing patient privacy.

Doug King is a clinical nurse specialist at Upper Hutt Hospital. He’s an internationally acclaimed expert on concussion having done 3 PhDs on sports injuries and concussion.

“There’s a rare condition called Second Impact Syndrome and it’s highly controversial,” he says. “Some people believe it, some people don’t.” The theory is that one impact will weaken the brain towards the second one, but Dr King is hesitant to ascribe the syndrome to Tere’s situation. “There’s too many factors to come out and say X equals Y in this case.”

Choosing not to go ahead with an autopsy on Tere’s brain means his family will never know for sure whether the two incidents were connected and, while Robin says the family don’t blame anyone, she and Chloe are both concerned about the rugby league regulations; whether players are aware of them, as well as whether the New Zealand Rugby League policies are being followed.

Under the policy in place at the time, all suspected concussions should result in a 21-day standdown, with players able to return to the game in that period, gradually, as long as they show no symptoms and have medical clearance.

But Dr John Mayhew, the medical director at NZRL says that in this case it appears that policy wasn’t followed.

“If someone has a head injury it’s reported to the local district, not New Zealand Rugby League. And then obviously that goes through a computer system and then, until he’s cleared again, his name cannot appear on a team sheet.”

Tere’s club didn’t respond to questions posed to them by the Sunday programme, referring us to the former All Blacks and Warriors doctor Dr John Mayhew who said it is the collective responsibility of the player, coaching staff, team management and the local district administration to ensure the protocols are followed.

“A lot of players don’t know the rules of the game they play under, let alone the medical rules,” he says.

But while he acknowledges it is ultimately NZRL’s responsibility to ensure the players and clubs are all fully informed, he does not think a lack of awareness of the rules is an endemic issue in rugby league.

For Tere’s mum, Robin that’s not good enough. “You could be stood down for some sort of infringement or penalty that you’ve done and everybody knows about that. But if it comes to an injury, who’s checking up?”

Showing early talent, Tere, middle row, fourth from left, wih his under 16 team, the Richmond Rovers.

ACC's new concussion rules

For over a year ACC has been meeting with New Zealand’s main sporting bodies, including NZRL to develop new universal guidelines for concussion.

ACC’s Dr John Robson, the acting deputy chief executive of Prevention and Partnerships, says that under the proposed guidelines, players will only be able to return to full competition after 21 days if they don’t have any symptoms, adding players must also “have completed the graduated return to play protocol, and they have medical clearance.”

Key to the new advice, is that there will be no exceptions to the 21-day standdown, players will not be able to get out of it by providing medical clearance.

The new advice from ACC will cover all sporting codes and is designed to keep players safe and simplify the rules for community sports.

Dr Robson says, “it can be confusing for coaches, players, whanau and health practitioners if return to play advice from each sport is different.”

The advice is based on guidance from the International Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport, the UK Concussion Guidelines for Grassroots Sports, and others.

Dr Robson says that the proposal has been shared for review and endorsement and he hopes it will be ready for implementation ahead of the 2024 winter sports season although it will be up to each sporting body to implement the guidelines.

NZRL says it has already accepted ACC’s new guidelines, including the 21-day minimum standdown period and the return to play protocol, which is reflected in new policy it published on its website in August.

However, Tere’s mum, Robin thinks they should go further. “If your clubs aren’t abiding by the rules, well, you get fined or you miss games. Just toughen up the system. These young men, you know, macho young blokes think they’re tough as nails and all the rest of it. But, hello, just learn to stand down, look after your health especially your head.”

A final gift from Tere

Part of Tere’s family’s motivation for speaking out, other than raising awareness around head injuries, is to promote organ donation.

Tere had told Chloe earlier in their relationship that it’s something he would have wanted to do, but he didn’t think his family would agree.

Tears well in her eyes as Robin explains her feelings. “Although it was a sad situation, you know, from the shoulders down, Tere was healthy and strong.”

At a hui of whanau, friends and teammates they unanimously agreed to endorse Tere’s wishes.

Chloe says “every single person in the room was just saying that Tere’s number one trait was his generosity. And he would give you the shirt off his back, so he would absolutely want to be able to save someone else’s life.”

Nikora points out a picture of his dad. (Source: Supplied)

Tere’s whanau say his organs have so far helped six people, including two who have regained their sight because of his enduring generosity.

Story written by Tania Page and produced by Kate McCallum.