Concussions have always been with us. In the not-so-distance past, coaches, doctors and athletes underestimated their impact and did not consider them serious medical conditions. But medical experts are just now discovering exactly what a serious brain trauma they can be and address them as such.
As a sophomore on the Woodbridge Senior High School Girls Volleyball Team, I experienced this traumatic injury. In Oct of 2011, after missing well over ten hours of practice from being sick, I resumed my spot on the court. But with a lingering cold, I was too exhausted to play my hardest.
Towards the end of practice that night, my coach had our Junior Varsity team scrimmage against each other. Waiting in the back row to receive the first serve, I kept eye contact with the server. I had a feeling the ball was coming my way; my premonition was correct.
After digging the ball a few times, I grew weaker. As a result I misjudged the last serve. Instead of the ball brushing against my forearms, it smacked the upper right side of my forehead, causing whiplash and excruciating pain in the lower left side of my skull.
Holding back tears, I kept playing -- one of the worst mistakes an athlete can make when injured. But, with only 30 minutes left of practice, I thought I’d play through the pain, and then let my coach know about my injury afterwards.
When practice ended, I still had a headache, which I told my coach about. He promptly sent me to see our athletic trainer.
In the trainers office, she ran a brief series of tests to check my concentration and memory, which included asking me to recite the months of the year backwards, walk in a straight line, recite my date of birth and repeat back to her a list of numbers she said in their exact order.
My answers must have been imperfect, because she told me, “Sweetie, I think you may have a concussion.”
At first I thought she was trying to be funny – the whole situation sounded like a joke to me. I knew concussions existed, but I never imagined it would happen to me, especially since I was only hit by a volleyball.
The next day, I looked up symptoms of a concussion on the internet. They included difficulty concentrating, memory loss, irritability, personality changes, sensitivity to light and noise, sleep disturbances, psychological adjustment problems, depression and disorders of taste and smell.
I wasn’t experiencing all, but many of those symptoms. Moreover, the test said the symptoms may occur immediately or be delayed hours or days after the injury, so I was still not in the clear. The online test, however, did conclude that I had a mild concussion.
At this point, if I had been more educated about concussions, I may have made different choices. But, no one told me how serious a concussion was, and how I should go about my recovery.
The absolute worst mistake I made following the concussion diagnosis was continuing with my regular schedule. At that point, I didn’t know that I had to rest for at least three days in a dark room without music or electronics.
Getting extra sleep is also essential when trying to heal from a concussion, but sleep always suffered in my hectic high school honor student/athlete schedule.
To make matters worse, I had a long commute to and from my high school, which begins class promptly at 7:30 a.m. While my base high school is Patriot, as a transfer student to Woodbridge to participate in the creative writing program, I “sleep in” until 5:30 a.m. on weekdays just to catch the bus.
Without having a concussion, this is already a tiring schedule. Which is why, after two weeks everything finally caught up with me. My energy level was yo-yoing; one day I hardly had a headache and the next day I crashed.
My parents, who I believe to be very loving and protective, have always taken great care of me -- if I had a cold, they would take me to the doctor. Fortunately, my concussion was no exception.
I was put under a doctor’s care at Children’s SCORE clinic in Rockville, Maryland. During each visit I took various tests to determine my level of concentration and memory skills. Each recording was like a progress report.
Once the doctor realized I was not progressing, she and my parents discussed putting me on a temporary homebound plan until I was well enough to get through a full day of school.
I was on homebound for over four months! Although I had tutors to keep me on track, my education was ultimately up to me. I had to drop my first period class and take it online because I was so far behind. And, I had to keep up with my other six classes at the same time.
Saying it was not easy to complete my schoolwork is an understatement.
I became depressed – not to the point where I considered harming myself, but I had never been in such a terrible mood all day, every day, for months on end.
Many of my friends joke about how I am the girl who “smiles too much,” but if any of my friends had seen me during my homebound period, they would not have recognized my tear-filled eyes or exhausted persona.
I remember staring at the blank TV in my living room, wishing I could turn it on and relax. But, I knew that in addition to being out of school, away from my friends and my athletic involvement, I was to also stay away from electronics. No easy task for a millennial child.
Of course, there was nothing lively about sitting in a “living” room whatsoever, and I spent most of my days staring at the wall wishing I could see my friends again.
When I returned to school it was not full time. With headaches and fatigue still an issue, I spent most of my time resting in an empty room in the office, praying that my life would return to “normal.”
My concussion was an emotional journey, both physically and mentally. Not only did I miss out on Friday night football games, spirit week and homecoming, but I lost almost all communication with my friends, since I was not allowed to use any type of electronics to hasten my recovery process.
I was finally cleared on June 9, 2012.
Although my concussion was not an enjoyable experience, I have faith that everything happened for a reason. Not only did I become more confident in my abilities after ending my school year strongly, but I grew spiritually as well. I realize now that I can overcome any obstacle through faith and determination.
I was also given a new outlook on life. Before my concussion I did the same thing every day: go to school, come home, do homework and watch television. I was living a mediocre lifestyle, and my teenage years were flashing before my eyes. What memories would I have to look back on and reminisce about?
I decided to celebrate life instead of waste it. I began spending a lot more time with my friends and participating in activities that I enjoy. I am truly thankful for this awakening to life.
I could have avoided spending four months at home by getting at least three full days of rest, but I am glad that my story and knowledge about concussions might help to prevent the same thing from happening to many other children, teens and adults that may have concussions in the future.
As the years progress, I hope that concussion awareness will continue to be taken more seriously.
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