Top 5 reasons why being concussed sucks
This office knighting ceremony went horribly wrong./ Brett Nielsen
So many concussions… such ouch… much struggle
Well, hello there. As someone who has had two major concussions, dealt with post-concussion syndrome, and suffered from various chronic concussion symptoms, I am here to share my lovely breadth of brain-bruising knowledge with you. Those who have had similar head injury experiences will hopefully relate; those who haven’t, well, you’ll probably get concussed eventually, so here’s what you have to look forward to; and those of you who have concussed friends can now understand why your brain-dead friends struggle the way they do. If you are an athlete, cut this article out of the paper, frame it, and hang it on your wall so that when you get a rank concussion and forget everything, you will at least have a reminder of why concussions sucks. Anyway, let’s get at it, shall we? Yaaas.
- Fear of getting concussed again
This fear is debilitating. After I suffered my second concussion this summer while playing softball (yes, you can get smacked in the head pretty dang hard playing softball), I went through a phase where I was scared to bat and run the bases because I was afraid of getting concussed again. Even after a few months, I still find myself afraid to play the sport I love, ‘cause, let’s be honest, if I get one more major concussion, my sporting career is likely over. Either that or I will be a vegetable, sucking my meals through a straw. I could even die. Repeated head trauma is serious business, yo. So, fear of getting concussed again? Yup.
- Endless headaches
Oh the headaches. So many headaches. But, these aren’t just normal headaches that go away with some water and Advil. These are migraines that can last for days. Migraines in class. Migraines at work. Migraines on the field. After my second concussion, I couldn’t get out of bed for a week because my head hurt so badly. My brain felt like it was going to explode, I wanted to cut my head off and replace it with one of my friends’ normal heads, and I could only minimize the pain by laying down in a dark room with my eyes closed. No music, no TV, nothing. For weeks after my concussion, those nasty little migraines remained. They still pop up here and there to torment me. All in all, concussions = migraines = life sucks. Lame.
- Memory loss
Oh the struggle of literally forgetting almost everything. What class do I have today? I don’t remember. What room is my class in? I have no idea. When is my doctor’s appointment? I don’t know *misses appointment*. What do I have to do today? No clue… Netflix it is. I know for a fact my memory is crap compared to how it used to be before I got concussed. I can’t remember the material that I study for exams, and I can’t remember coffee dates with my homies that happen weekly. Even if I know I’m going for coffee with people because I go at the same time every week, I still forget about it, double-book myself, and screw things up. Not only does this memory loss frustrate me, but it frustrates those around me when I mess up plans. Sad. I’m sorry.
- Expensive physiotherapy bills
What’s worse than being a broke university student? Being a broke university student with a concussion ‘cause when you get concussed, you go to physiotherapy to help the ol’ noggin, but you have to roll out the dolla dolla bills since the physio place at the University of Regina no longer offers students free treatment. Thank God for insurance. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my physiotherapist. She has saved me on countless occasions and acupunctured me numerous times to help with my migraines. She is a champ at treating my lovely concussed head, as are many other physiotherapists. The whole shebang just costs money, which sucks. But, I guess dishing out some money to treat the brain is a better option than not treating it and dying. Just a thought.
- I forget
No seriously…I forget what the top reason was.
i was totally unaware that you had gotten concussions. ive had a couple in my day as well…cant move my head around very fast or it literally happens all over again..sudden snaps when im in a vehicle etc on a quad or a side by side in very rough terrain and its over for me. migrains like a sonofagun then…thats also one of the reasons i have gotten out of contact sports…love ya and keep up the great work.