Navy assistant focusing on football after son's transplant
ARNOLD, Md. (AP) — Navy offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper can concentrate fully on football this summer, a luxury he does not take for granted.
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.
Early in the process, Ivin considered skipping the entire 2017 season. With his son's blessing, each day the longtime assistant coach went to practice and then immediately joined his wife and the teenager in the hospital.