Yesterday seemed like a pretty much perfect day until about 5:15 p.m. when my older son arrived home from playing basketball with his friends at the YMCA. Those college and high school boys/men play hard with each other. My other son and I had seen them play when we were there earlier but we left the Y about 4 p.m. to come home.
Anyway, he was a bit shaken up and said that he'd hit his head hard on the floor of the gym when he collided with his friend. He continued playing for a few more minutes while his friend (bruised and bloodied from the impact) went to clean up. Afterwards he went to the locker room and laid down on the bench and passed out for about 3-5 minutes, not sure how long and had a short memory loss.
I checked his head--no blood, no lump--and called a friend of mine who used to be an ER nurse. She advised us to go to the emergency room or to a Centra Care right away which we did. My husband had come home early that day and was already here so he went with us. We took two cars since we weren't sure how long it would be and our son rode with me in case my husband had to get back home (project due today at work). I prayed with him in the car that all would be OK and since I had posted on my Facebook what had happened, I knew others were praying for him, too. Technology is wonderful sometimes!!
Thankfully, the hospital is only about 5 minutes from our home. We signed in and were immediately taken to see a nurse where they did the triage--blood pressure, temp, etc. then took us to a private examination room where my son was able to lie down. The doctor came in about 20 minutes later, then did a CT scan and cleared us to leave in about an hour and a half. Their new see-a-doctor-within-60-minutes guarantee is really true. Amazing. I waited one night with a friend in ER there several years ago and was there with her literally ALL night long.
No complications last night, thank God. We have to watch him for a couple of days for worsening symptoms and he's not allowed to drive for 24 hours AND no physical contact sports for two weeks AFTER all symptoms go away, including headaches. If you or anyone you know has never had a concussion, here are the symptoms to watch out for initially and after the fact for a few days:
Typical symptoms of concussion include:
Dazed feeling
Visual symptoms
- Irritability
Physical Signs
Since, by definition, concussion does not damage the structure of the brain, the physical examination should be normal. More subtle findings may include:
Slow to answer questions or follow directions
Poor concentration
Emotional lability (emotional changes or instability)
Slurred speech
- Personality changes
There are an estimated 3.8 million sports and recreation-related
(CDC)
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