Personal Narrative: How Sports Have Affected My Life

In her article, More Concussions Prolong Kids Recovery Time (Sifferlin), Alexandra claims that “having more than one concussion can prolong a child's recovery” (Sifferlin). It's a great place to

The risk for further injury or a worse concussion can occur after getting a concussion and returning to play sports before your brain has had the right amount of time to completely heal. Students who go back to play too soon are very susceptible for worse further injuries, specifically in the brain. According to Fred Theye and Karla Mueller, 10% of athletes take more than 7 days to recover from an injury. If everyone with a concussion waits at least a

My first research project was the dangers and preventions of concussions in sports. Concussions can be very dangerous if you are not wearing the proper equipment and do not treat them properly. For those of you who don’t know “a concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that is caused by a blow to the head or body, a fall or another injury that jars or shakes the brain inside the skull”. There are many symptoms of a concussion. “You may be suffering from a concussion if you experience dizziness, headache, off-balance, amnesia for what occurred before the head trauma, anterograde amnesia (a loss of ability to create new memories after the head trauma), difficulty concentrating, irritability and vomiting”.

Concussions are common due to the fact that there is not much protection between the skull and the brain. The medical definition of a concussion is, “ A traumatic brain injury—or TBI—caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth,” ( What is a Concussion). Concussions can cause temporary loss of consciousness due to the bruising of the brain and the force of the impact. During the impact, “The brain [may] bounce around or twist in the skull, creating chemical changes, sometimes stretching and damaging brain cells” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). That is why concussions can have such a lasting impact. Depending on the extent, most concussions only last for a few days to a week, but some can last for months due to the damage. Concussions are put into categories based on how long they are believed to last so doctors know how long to keep athletes out from strenuous activity. “Concussions are graded as mild (grade 1), moderate (grade 2), or severe (grade 3), depending on such factors as loss of consciousness, amnesia, and loss of equilibrium” (Lava ). With each grade, there are different symptoms and differences in how long they last.

High school students are much more vulnerable to concussions than older students, and there is also proof that females are also more vulnerable because of physical differences between men and women. Although the symptoms of concussions should disappear within a week, there is a period in which the brain, and the athlete themselves are much more vulnerable to further injury. This is why those who suffer a severe head injury should wait a longer period of time to before going back on the field. Most athletes make a great recovery from most head injuries, as long as the correct precautions are taken; in the future, maybe the risk of concussions will seize

There are two main long term effects of a concussion: post concussion syndrome and second-impact syndrome. Second-impact syndrome is when one receives a blow to the head before the brain is completely healed. This results in swelling of the brain, and that can result in a fatal death. The main reason that people suffer from this is they do not get the proper amount of rest that they need before they go back and play whatever sport they were playing. Since 1984, more than twenty people have died from second-impact syndrome (Caroline M, et al.). Anyone who receives a second concussion that is moderate to severe after they have had a first one should sit out from their sport for at least a month to avoid second-impact syndrome. Second-impact syndrome seems to be rare with patients, but the chance of getting second-impact syndrome is higher in people who play football, soccer, baseball, or basketball, and ski or who box.

This concussion set me back the furthest out of them all. It had been about a week since the doctor cleared me to begin playing sports again. It had been about three and a half months since my second concussion. My third concussion took place during a PE class. Our PE teacher sent me and a group of kids to an auxiliary gym by ourselves while the PE teacher went to play basketball in another gym. And of course when a teacher is not present there will be horseplay. And there was just that. The student was standing about five feet away from me when the ball struck the side of my head. My doctor put me on brain rest for about two weeks. If you do not know what brain rest is, it's when all you do is rest and sleep and do not do anything that will

Early in my freshman year of high school, my books fell from my locker onto my head and gave me a severe concussion. The incident that occurred does not sound like it could cause such a severe injury, but it did for me. I assumed I would recover after a week or so, as I had with my other sports-related concussions. However, the doctor stated that it would take me longer to recover because I was not fully healed from my previous injuries. Ultimately, it took until the end of my sophomore year to be cleared.

Unfortunately, during the past couple of years I experienced a number of concussions while playing competitive soccer. A variety of symptoms such as extreme nausea and pounding headache appeared whenever I performed strenuous activities. I became disconnected from school, activities and my friends. Wanting to be healthier, I pushed myself during the difficult physiotherapy sessions and eagerly practiced the exercises at home. Thus, I am proud that I recovered since I learned that I must invest massive amounts of energy in order to reach my objectives and that life neglects my strategy and wishes; therefore, I must be flexible.

After taking almost all of my eighth grade year battling concussions, I finally had a break at the end of my eight grade year. I felt really well the entire summer right before my ninth grade year. I made one of the most regrettable decisions of my life at the end of the summer. I decided to go with a group of friends to spend a weekend at the lake tubing. I did not realize at the time my brain was still susceptible to another y. brain injury. I went the entire weekend tubing on the lake and did not feel any symptoms; however, the next day I became very ill. I knew right away that I had re-concussed. Since this incident I have not been a 100%. I have suffered all of my high school career with post concussive syndrome. I have seen many Doctors

Everybody has memories they will never forget. The first of mine is playing baseball when I was six years old. My dad had always played sports and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. Baseball was my dream at a young age and it all started with the Tigers. I’ll always remember stepping onto the field for the first time and feeling the excitement rush through me. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to be the team’s starting catcher. I liked the feeling of being in command behind the plate and felt like I had some sort of control over the game. I don’t remember a whole lot about the first game, but I do remember my first hit. I can tell you that I’ve never felt so excited in my life as I connected with the ball and began running to first base. I knew that made my dad extremely happy.

I never liked playing with dolls, painting nails, pretending I was a teacher or even acting like I was baking with fake food. All that girly stuff sounded boring to me, so the one thing that kept me busy everyday was going outside and playing whatever sport was on for that day with all my neighborhood friends. We played everything from kickball to football in the streets. Ever since I was a little child, playing sports was my passion. In my free time I played every sport you can think of, but sports that I actually was on a team for was baseball, hockey, soccer, and I ran track. Being an athlete is how people knew me, I guess you could say I was and still am a tomboy. Being involved in a sport ever since I was four years old, has really taught me a lot about not just playing the sports itself, but at life as a whole. Being apart of a team, can teach someone many skills, and life lessons. Because there are uncountable reasons why one should be involved in a sport, the main skills, and lessons include learning how to work together, and developing communication, and organizing skills. Additionally, one could develop a good work ethic, and learn how to control body language/temper.

From there the trainer asked me if I could read the score board. I started crying as I couldn't read the board and couldn't stand up. From there I was taken to Mercy Hospital. There I was given a ct scan subsequently I was diagnosed with a concussion. Those following months were the hardest of my life. I went through many dreadful months of daily physical therapy. I had a nerve and muscle surgery on both of my eyes. Being out of school for four months may seem like a blessing to some but when you're away from the people you see everyday and aren't yourself you would give anything to just be like everyone else. People underestimate the damage that can be caused by concussions. They can change who you are as a person and the way you live for the rest of your life. Eventually after a year’s worth of struggles and hardship it did get better. I wouldn't be who I am today if the beast hadn't unleashed her wrath upon my

Without a concussion, I could do whatever I wanted to do with my life. I could play basketball and soccer whenever I wanted to. I could go out and have fun with my friends or even go to social gatherings that my fraternity was holding. I went to class everyday and made sure all of my homework was finished and turned in on time. I did not have no worry about anything

How could you forget such a terrible time, every time the symptoms get worse and worse. The most recent concussion I got was in august 2016 and it took me out of football for a good while because it was a major concussion. What happened was I was flipping on a trampoline with no net on the sides and I flipped off and hit my head i can't remember anything after i still don’t know how i got into the my house. The doctors suggest that I blacked out. So, I hurt myself a lot and I still do stupid stuff that lead to more and worse injury time and time again. The thing that's been said to me the most, BE