Concussions can be quite frightening and need to be treated correctly. I received my first concussion recently while playing baseball. Rather, I was hit by an 85 mph fastball straight to the back of my helmet. Falling down, I felt fine and heard the umpire talk to me and then jogged down the first base line. But when I got to the bag and heard my coach ask me if I was okay, I saw the catcher throw the ball back to the pitcher and I lost sight of it. I couldn’t focus my eyes on the moving ball, and I felt a bit wavy, and the back of my head was sore. I realized something was wrong, and I pulled myself out of the game. Sitting on the bench, I didn’t feel all that bad, but on the car ride home, my dad would talk to me and I just felt like my head was going to shut down. I don’t remember the rest of that day, but my dad claims that it was hard for me to think; I couldn’t come up with answers to his questions and I just sat in the passenger seat and stared out the window for 45 minutes.
I went home and laid low for the rest of the day. However, the next day, I felt a lot different. I was very tired and didn’t necessarily feel sick, but just a little off. I went to school and by the end of the day I began to feel more and more like I was in a daze. My legs felt wobbly, as if they had no strength, but I wasn’t alarmed at all. I went home and rested. But the next day, the third day, was when things had me and my parents worried. I felt like someone could slightly push me and I would lose total balance. I felt absolutely drained, as if I had no strength whatsoever. Staying home from school that day, I began to feel worse and worse. Having been hit by the fastball three days ago, I didn’t understand why I was feeling this way now as opposed to when I was hit.
I went to the doctor, and he conducted a series of tests on me to determine what I was undergoing. First, he had me sit and put my hands in my lap and turn them over and back, and continue repeatedly. I couldn’t do it with consistency and struggled to do just one. He commented on how slow I was and that the “rapid alternating movements” that I had done were not coordinated. Then, he took me into the hallway and had me walk heel-to-toe in a straight line. When I looked up as I walked, it was impossible to stay straight, and I wobbled like a duck side to side. He said that I had sustained a concussion without losing consciousness. He warned me that next time I need to seek medical help right after a hit to the head occurs, not three days after the fact. I was unable to participate in sports for two weeks and had to see him then to be cleared for play. Luckily, I would be fine and okay, but I didn’t feel totally normal and symptom-free until those two weeks had passed.
Being an athlete, I know that the first thing that comes to an athlete’s mind is to stay in the game and help their team win. One seriously needs to think about the danger of concussions; help should be sought right away if there’s any thought or hint that something just isn’t right. During the game where I was hit I felt fine, and if it was a meaningful game I would’ve seriously entertained the thought of staying in it. But that would’ve been the wrong call. The danger and risk is very serious and isn’t worth it; you have many years to play and succeed in sports, so why risk throwing it all away? Look at the NFL’s settlement in the lawsuit filed by over 4,500 former NFL players against the league for their concussions. The NFL will be paying $765 million to settle the lawsuit, and the fact that 4,500 former players and many others are suffering from concussions and brain damage as a result from their playing days just further proves that the risk of playing with or through a concussion is one that should not be taken.
