Headaches and pains

Throughout my short athletic career I have suffered a variety of injuries from sprained wrists to a ruptured ACL in my left knee, but none have compared to the long lingering effects of the two major concussions I have had.

The first one was probably the most traumatic one I endured even though I do not remember much of what happened.

I was 10 years old playing baseball in Westchester, Calif. on a Little League team in 2000. We were playing in the semi-final round before the finals for the League Championship that year.

During the game my team was ahead by a few runs going into the last inning of the game.

I was playing Left Field and they had a few players on base with their best hitter coming up to bat and sure enough he hit a fly ball my way. The ball was not hit that hard and was falling between me and the shortstop.

The last thing I remember about the game was running for the ball. I can’t recall much of the rest of the day except for parts of a car ride to a dentist in Redondo Beach.

From what my parents have told me about what happened, the shortstop and I ran into each other and knocked heads.

The blow impact was so bad that my two front teeth were knocked out and hanging by the roots. I was unconscious for about five minutes and was immediately rushed to a dentist to have my teeth put back in place.

As for the second concussion, that one I remember more vividly. It happened in the summer of 2007 while I was playing at a summer league basketball game.

During the game a player from the other team stole the ball and broke away to the basket. I was able to cut him off and took a charge, however the collision had me fall awkwardly and the back of my head slammed against the hardwood floor.

I jumped back to my feet to inbound the ball and as quickly as I got up I fell back to the floor. I was so disoriented that my head coach, a coach from another team and one of

Horowrtz said.

A main concern for the training staff and the athletes is that after the first concussion an individual is more likely to get another one.

“Does not matter if it was a year ago or two years ago, it is still a concussion,” Horowrtz said. Usually what happens after a concussion is that you are more susceptible to a second or third or fourth concussion.”

In some more serious instances the training staff has to send the players to a neurologist for further analysis.

“We would like to send them to a neurologist especially if they have had more than one concussion or something does not seem right,” Horowrtz said.

Although there is a training staff on campus the real responsibility of dealing with an injury like a concussion falls on the individual athletes.

“Everyone has the responsibility to police everybody,” Ramirez said.

Not being able to remember new information

Physical

Headache

Fuzzy or blurry vision

Nausea and vomiting

Dizziness

Sensitivity to light or noise

Balance problems

Feeling tired or having no energy

Emotional and mood

Easily upset or angered

Sad

Nervous or anxious

More emotional my teammates practically carried me back to the bench.

After my first concussion, because I was so young, I developed an Auditory Processing Disorder.

After the second, I suffered from post concussion syndrome for almost 4 months and missed almost the first three months of my junior year in high school, because the symptoms were so bad.

I had headaches that lasted weeks at a time, I couldn’t walk outside because the sunlight was so bothersome and all I wanted to do was sleep.

It felt like an amplified hangover that just would not go away despite all the medications and treatments I received over that time period. Even to this day I can still feel the side effects and the slightest knocks to the head bring back symptoms such as nausea, headaches and sensitivity to light.

Although I went through these head injuries, if it were not for a knee injury I would still be playing sports competitively despite knowing the repercussions of getting a hit in the head again.

Sleep

Sleeping more than usual

Sleeping less than usual

Having a hard time falling asleep

Information provided by webmd.com