My son plays baseball for the high school and will not be finishing the season. Ironically he took a pitch to the helmet over 2 week ago but says it didn’t hurt at all and the velocity wasn’t that much because it was a curve ball. The parents all gasped when it hit him but he ran to first base without any trouble. Seemed completely fine. Ten days later he was playing a pick up game of basketball with some friends and took an elbow to the head causing a bump on his head. It hurt a lot and he took a few minutes to rest but went right back to playing. A couple hours later is when he started feeling nauseous. I never made the connection that it could be a concussion. He has had lots of bumps on the head throughout life and never had an issue. Never in a million years did we think an elbow could cause this. This is a huge eye opener to never take a bump on the head lightly. I just hope he can heal fully and be back to being a happy kid again.
@CheddarcheeseMN : No health risks from quitting a contact sport if a non-contact sport or sports takes its place.
That is why I suggesting running, racquet sports, golf, weightlifting, swimming & water skiing.
We never allowed our son to play football, but he managed to get his concussion on the swim team during practice.
Do any of you know if he can still get the GPA boost if he is not medically cleared to take the AP exam? He said he is willing to sit there and stare at the walls for the time frame of the test just so he can get the boost. My poor boy is stressing out about it so much.
That’ll be school-specific. Our school gives no such boost.
@powercropper: How did your son get a concussion from swimming ? Sorry to read this. Hope he is better.
The days of kids just denying the concussion and going back into the game are gone (unless MAYBE you are the star player on a top team). My son had a concussion playing football. He said he was fine and put his helmet back on to go in the next play. Not happening. Trainer is called over and runs through a series of protocol, which he couldn’t pass. Last game of the season. A week later, he lied and said he was fine because he didn’t want to miss the beginning of wrestling. Couldn’t pass the mandatory concussion test given by the trainer before being released (every player in every sport has to take a baseline test prior to beginning a sport each season and results post-injury are compared to that baseline). When he was finally cleared, it was a mandatory 2 weeks of non-contact conditioning before being allowed to resume full practice.
My daughter, a competitive cheerleader most of her life, got her only concussion after being rear-ended by another car on the way to school.
His school gives a 1.1 Grade boost for taking the exam.
As you know…the GPA boost is not as important as your son’s health.
TBH, I would put that GPA boost right out of your mind. If he is healthy enough to take the test…fine. If not…then that has to be fine too.
Many colleges recalculate GPA anyway.
@thumper1 I am not worried about it he is. Obviously my first concern is his healing and health. How can he heal if he is stressed about it? This is so hard…
He said his rank will suffer too…
Please remind him that if his health suffers, he is jeopardizing his future too.
His class rank and GPA really do not matter right now. At all.
If they take a dive, his school counselor can include an explanation in the counselors statement…that he had a concussion and this term was not his usual standard.
Get to a concussion specialist ASAP. I’m sure they have dealt with anxiety as well.
Yes we are waiting on a referral from his Pediatrician.
Current Concussion Management
Sport-Related Concussion, Don and Flo Brady (NASP Communique)
INITIAL STEPS
After an initial concussion the individual should subscribe to REST, not just physical rest, but COMPLETE and UTTER rest.
NO TV
NO Texting
NO Computers
NO Radio
NO Bright Lights
NO Loud Noises
NO Reading
COMPLETE brain rest, in other words, SLEEP!
SCHOOL AGED INDIVIDUALS
Rest should be continued until all signs and symptoms have resolved. Rest in this demographic should and would include exclusion from school. When trying to learn the brain is working, thus not resting. Even if the kid went to school the bright lights, the loud noises and the exercise the brain needs to just navigate the hallways is enough to impede progress in resolving this injury. As a reminder, it may be good to take the cell phone, computer and video game systems from the kids. They should return to school when all signs and symptoms have resolved.
RETURN TO ACTIVITY (including Physical Education)
Current graded return to play guidelines for athletes that have sustained a concussion. This particular model was adapted from the 3rd International Conference on Concussions held in Zürich in 2008, and I have since modified adding one step.
No activity, only complete rest, proceed to step two only when symptoms are gone.
Return to school/academics (1/2 day at first), again no moving on until a full day of school can be completed.
Light aerobic exercise such as walking or stationary cycling. Monitor for symptoms and signs. No resistance training or weight lifting.
Sport – specific activities and training (eg. skating in hockey). No contact or risk of contact.
Drills without body contact. May add light resistance training and then progress to heavy weights. The time needed to progress from non-contact to contact exercise will vary with the severity of the concussion and player.
Begin drills with body contact.
Game play.
As stated above each step should be only attempted if there is NO signs or symptoms as they relate to the concussion.
Guidelines for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Persistent Symptoms – ONF
Consensus Statement on Concussions in Sport from Zurich, 2012, 4th International Conference on Concussion in Sport
It is also important to realize that a concussion or head injury, in general, will not resolve in a typical linear fashion. Meaning that “on day one you have this and by day 7 you should be here,” as is common with other general orthopedic injuries.
The head is mysterious and responds differently for each individual person. Set-backs will be common and should be expected. When they do occur you should regress to the previous step in this process and begin again.
The general rule of thumb is 24 hours at each phase.
Be mindful and remember that if you suspect a head injury/concussion that you should consult a medical professional, preferably one that has experience with concussions and return-to-play.
Yes thank you I did read this.
I agree with others that you need to emphasize to your son that his health is the most important thing to consider at this point. It’s a different situation, but I learned a lesson when my son was diagnosed with a mental illness his freshman year in college. Even after being hospitalized, he REALLY wanted to go to summer school far from home, even though his doctor recommended he come back to Maine for the break. We decided to let him do as he wanted. In hindsight, we should have insisted that he come home. Hoping that everything would turn out OK was not sufficient! Now I remind parents that life is not a race - it’s vital that kids take care of their bodies and minds.
The school gives the boost just to take the exam- it is not based on performance? Did you pay for the exam? It sounds like the school is just trying to encourage their kids to take the exam. Surely, if he medically incapable they wouldn’t yank the 1 point bump up. I would call the school to discuss.
This thread is getting a bit disturbing when a child’s health is overlooked for a slight school benefit. I point this out because this often happens in contact sports when the environment prompts the child to prematurely re-engage in contact sports because priorities are not as they should be.
Last week there was an article about a 13 year old California boy who committed suicide after suffering multiple concussions as an offensive lineman. The father is outraged, yet the father let his child continue playing tackle football after suffering a head collision that resulted in a concussion and bleeding from the ear.
Let me get one thing straight here… My son’s health is my number one priority here. I am just looking for opinions on how to handle the matter. Not sure what his rights are as a student etc. This has never happened to our family before and with him being first generation college student I need advice how to go forward. He has seen his pediatrician twice, he is getting a referral to see a concussion specialist, the school is well aware. We are going to take this day by day. My son is the one who needs reassuring so I am reaching out to any one who may have gone through this before to see how it was handled so I have some feedback to share. Please stop being judge mental and offer advice if you have it. This is not a time to criticize. He will NOT being engaging in any sports or anything else that will jeopardize his health. If he is not medically cleared to take the AP test then so be it. Not the end of the world and I will get a refund for it. The hard part is convincing my son not to be so upset about the situation. Not easy for him as he is a high achieving student. I am NOT that parent who you describe @Publisher