Oh Concussions...

This week has literally been crazy! My other sister had her baby on the 17th at 1:04 am. Her little girl was doing great but then had to be sent to the NICU yesterday for some tests. As of right now I think she is ok. My new nephew turned 2 weeks yesterday and we now know he will definitely need spine surgery, cleft surgery and skull surgery (as 2 plates are prematurely fused together).

In addition to that, today marks 7 years since my Uncle Doug unexpectedly passed away after a routine back surgery and it is also my brother-in-laws birthday. It has been NUTS around here...

It has been 3 weeks since my car accident...almost to the minute (6:40pm). I went to the doctor yesterday and my symptoms are still really high. The one good thing that comes from having done this before is that I do not get my hopes up for my doctor visits. I pretty much already know what they are going to say.

I went to a wedding on July 14 and the doctor said it set me back because I was dancing. To be honest, I knew it would but here's the thing, I was either going to sit there and be miserable or I was going to embrace the situation and deal with consequences later. I was NOT going to miss that wedding. So, here I am dealing with the consequences.

Now I have to be extra careful how much I'm driving, on the computer, watching TV or doing anything else mentally stimulating. My team is on their camp trip right now and I am obviously not there, which stinks but I knew last week that I couldn't go. It would've been a lot of fun because the coaches I worked with this year were awesome and our girls were so great to be around ;) They'll still have a blast.

I may have taken this whole resting thing a bit too far today but I don't know what else to do. After my chiropractor appointment this morning, I took a short nap before Phil brought me some lunch (love him!). Then I decided to go upstairs around 12:30pm to sleep. I just got out of bed at 6pm... Oops!

It's weird because my doctor and my old boss say to sleep as much as I need to and to relax and do nothing but Leah (my sports psychologist) tells me that naps aren't so great... I guess I just need to listen to my body on this one. I mean, what else am I suppose to do if I can't do anything mentally stimulating? lol...

All of this information is still so new, I feel like there still isn't enough research to know what is necessarily good and bad. It's strange, but this makes me excited. I am going back to school soon and I can't wait to get knee deep in concussion research and figure out the ins and outs of the field while educating those around me.

Yesterday an NFL player admitted to lying about concussion symptoms so he would be cleared to go back on the field. Education is necessary even at the professional level. It should never be used to induce fear in players but it is very important that people know what a concussion is, what it feels like and what to do if you or someone has one.

My neuropsychologist from Miami (Dr. Hotz) is trying to get grant money to fund her virtual concussion project so athletes can experience what a concussion is like before they get one. This is genius! I definitely think it will be helpful but at the same time everyone around them has to be a part of the help because sometimes, even though you know what it feels like or might feel like, it is difficult to remember at the time AND you still want to play!

Case in point, I didn't know I had a concussion this time. I kept telling everyone after I was diagnosed that I knew the whole time, but I had no idea. In fact, I was shocked when they said concussion. I was not even thinking along those lines. Even with my symptoms of nausea, vomiting, balance problems, headache, etc. It didn't even cross my mind that I had another concussion.

I'm taking it one day at a time and today has been an overall good day. Though I slept over half of it, at least I didn't have to deal with a terrible headache all day and now it is nice and quiet as I sit here writing this entry. Hopefully each day from here on out will be looking better and better :)

Feel free to leave comments or send messages if you have thoughts or want advice or need to just vent if you are experiencing any of the same symptoms or problems or even if it's something I haven't mentioned and you'd like me to :)