Not as Simple as it Seems
Jim Ellis, a concussion advocate from Georgia, is surprised at how long it is taking his 11-year-old grandson, Parker, to heal from his first concussion. First in a series, he details his experience.
It has been reported that over 3 million concussions a year happen in recreation -and sports -related activity in the United States. We hear about concussions on TV, read about them in the newspapers and talk about them at the water cooler at work. It also has been reported that more injuries occur during practice than in the games. Do we really hear or absorb the messages? Does it matter how much we know? Can you prevent a concussion?
As an advocate for concussion awareness in youth sports and the head of a group that started and implemented a concussion awareness, education and safety program in my home community we are fortunate that our athletes, coaches and parents know the signs and symptoms and have an action plan in place.
On August 29th, my eleven-year-old grandson, Parker Disraeli, was injured during football practice in the common one-on-one drill known as the Oklahoma Drill. One tackler, one ball carrier, stand 5 to 10 yards apart and the goal is to tackle the runner, then switch positions. This is a repetitive drill and when you split the 22 team roster in two you will have many more repetitions. Parker went down in a head-to-head hit after maybe 7 to 8 turns.
Parker felt dazed when he was hit. The coaches called for a water break right afterward and Parker went to the sidelines, took off his helmet, and sat on it. The coaches told me as I went to join him that Parker took a pretty good lick.
He was a little foggy, had a headache, answered my questions slowly, had no energy and didn't feel right. A dad came over and said he was hit pretty hard. His balance and memory were fine. We watched about 10 minutes of the practice when it started again, helmet off. The coaches and I agreed "not return to practice" in fact, we agreed to leave and go home. We went to the doctor the next day.
We are currently dealing with the effects of a concussion and going through the healing process with Parker, our family, our friends, teachers, school nurses, coaches and teammates. We did not realize what a difficult process this would be. There are mood swings, some good, some bad, changes at school and he is struggling with his workload.
The doctor recommended half-days at school, then home to rest, and limited play time. There are doctors' visits, testing, changing his day- to-day routine (what he can and can not do versus what he wants to do), restrictions on TV, computer, and play time. Rest and sleep times, going to the practice or games as a observer rather than a player, dealing with his feelings, as he wants to play.
In our case, one of the most difficult issues is dealing with the fact that there are no visible signs that Parker is injured, there is no cast on the arm or leg, no bandages, and no crutches. The common theme and observation is for the most part, "he looks good to me" or "what's wrong with him?" Fortunately, because of the concussion awareness program we implemented we are not experiencing the "tough it out" or "you'll be alright, hang in there" mentality.
First and foremost, the action plan is to have the athlete seen by a medical professional as soon as possible after the injury. We did this at Children's Healthcare Sports Medical Clinic, where Parker was diagnosed with a mild head injury (if there is such a thing as a mild concussion). We then made an appointment with the sports medicine doctors at Children's to have Parker evaluated and tested. Parker had to take the ImPACT computerized neuropsychological test which lasts about 30 minutes. Then he was given a subjective test on 20 symptoms where he was asked to grade his feelings from one to six. (six being the worst). Parker did not score well on the computer test or the subjective test. i.e. Parker's score was a 47. The goal is to be at least below 10 on these subjective questions. Yes, indeed Parker had a concussion.
The first week was rather easy compared to the weeks that followed. I believe the reason is because once it is labeled a mild injury, one could assume with a little rest he should be back in a week or so. Not so my friends, we are now in the 4th week and going to see the chief neuropsychology doctor for evaluation and additional testing.
There is plenty of information available on concussions. We used the CDC's Heads Up materials and the Children's healthcare materials for our program. The CDC's materials are available online at cdc.org/concussions.
By Jim Ellis
Questions/comments? Contact Jean Rickerson at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.