The Concussion Discussion…

I’m willing to bet that there is no other country as obsessed with discussing concussions as we are here in Canada. Yes, head trauma is serious business here in the true north strong and free from minor brain injury. A quick search of the Globe and Mail for “concussions” yields 4621 articles, so there you go. Of course, that most likely includes concussion grenades and all other derivations of the word, but what the hell, it’s Saturday and that’s as much research as you get. Our national game (in fact both our national games, now that I think of it) is of course the cause of our concern. High-speed, high-impact hockey has brought head injuries to the forefront of popular discourse as the game has only become higher-speed and higher-impact. I presume that hockey players have always had their heads battered about, and the issue has always hovered on the periphery. However, it wasn’t really until one of the best players in the game, Sid the Kid, was sidelined for most of a season this year that people really started to take notice. Personally, I may be in the minority around these parts, but I like the game of hockey even without all the rock-em-sock-em-smash-bang-smorgasbord. I think the game would be just as good without fighting. I love Olympic hockey where skills are highlighted and outright aggression takes a back seat. Is there any other reason to fight for these elements other than TV ratings? I think it’s the league itself that needs its head examined. Although the events in Vancouver the other night seem to indicate that a majority of hockey fans suffer from brain damage as well.

In any case, I’m rambling. And well I might, since I have joined the ranks of the Canadian concussed. Yes, after years of feeling as though I was hitting my head against the wall, I’ve actually experienced the real thing. And how did I obtain my minor head injury? Volleyball. Seems silly to even say it. When my mother-in-law found out about my concussion, she urged me to find a new, less violent sport. Less violent than volleyball? I’m not sure I can think of one. Mini-golf? No, that windmill is a deathtrap. Sure I often injure myself playing volley. Spraining my ankles is a common occurrence, but I tore my ankles to shreds in high school and now they’re weaker than a UN resolution. In fact, in my nearly twenty years of playing the sport, I’ve never seen anyone get a concussion playing volleyball. Leave it to me.

So how did it happen? Well, it was the championship game. Final point. Win or lose came down to the final serve. I watched as the ball flew the wrong way off a teammate toward the wall. I can save that, I thought to myself as I picked up speed across the court. I leaped into the air, hit the ball and saw it hit the top of the net and fall on our side. Failure. Turns out I was wrong, I could not save it. Things are pretty hazy after that. My shoulder is killing me so I must have smashed into the wall at that level, and then my head whipped over and smacked the concrete. I remember a bright flash, a loud crack, and a strange mental image of lightning bolts emitting from my teeth. Then everything was dark. I came to on the floor with my teammate Ted, trained in first-aid, holding me down. Strangely, my sinuses immediately drained, and I found myself gagging on fluid coursing down my throat. I needed to turn on my side, but Ted was, quite rightly, still holding me on my back in case of spinal injury. I managed to convince him to let me turn my head, swallow and start to assess why the hell I was on the floor.

Then I went through what I can only describe as a hard re-boot. I could hear everything that was going on. I understood all of Ted’s “assessing” questions, but I couldn’t seem to bring myself to answer. This, of course, made him think I was really in trouble. But I remember thinking that it was obvious that I was fine, why couldn’t they see that? Slowly, as if systems were coming back online, I realized that I hadn’t yet answered him, so I started sputtering out that I was okay. I heard the league rep. talk about calling an ambulance, and that’s when I really snapped back into reality. Ambulances? They cost money! My stubborn side came out as I vehemently refused that anyone should call the paramedics. Just give me a couple minutes, I kept saying… or at least I think I did. Slowly, I managed to sit up with my back against the wall, and then eventually stood and weaved my way down the gym and took a break to sit on a bench. Ice packs arrived and that made things more tolerable. As I came fully back online, I personally thought I was fine. I was vehement. No, I didn’t want to go sit in emergency for hours to have someone tell me that I had a concussion and should take it easy.

So, I went to emergency and sat for a few hours and had someone tell me I had a concussion and should take it easy. But of course, it was the right thing to do. I was just being stubborn. Head injuries aren’t something you can really assess on your own, mostly because, you know, your head is injured.

So, my first concussion. Back in residence, my crazed, rugby-playing friend Jawn had had 13 when I knew him, I’m sure that he’s had more since then. And Jawn was always a bit special, especially where electrical sockets, staplers and wrapping himself in toilet paper and lighting himself on fire were concerned. So, I’m wary now. I certainly don’t want it to happen again. It was by no means a pleasant experience. And now I’ve discovered that everyone wants to know what it’s like to have a concussion. Perhaps it’s because of our new found Canadian curiosity with brain trauma. It’s not an easy thing to explain, but now that so many people have asked, I’ve had a little practice.

First of all, it’s boring having a concussion. All the things i would normally do when home sick are pretty much off limits. Reading, movies, tv, computer… too much stimulation. I  scoffed at this at first, but after a quick run through the emails the first morning, I was ready to go lie down again. And the first day, I did feel a bit slow. So there’s been a lot of lying around with my eyes closed, listening to CBC radio, chugging down Tylenol. I stubbornly watched the hockey game Wednesday night, and only made it two periods before I went to bed with a decent headache. Too much tracing the puck around, and I found that Don Cherry is even more intolerable with a concussion.

Secondly, I found I was much more aware of my individual senses. Sudden noises would jar me, and bright lights were obviously painful. In a crowd, I found I was honing in on individual conversations and had trouble filtering the whole thing out as background noise. it’s a bit like being a super-hero except it’s really annoying.

Overall, the more you rest and follow doctor’s orders, the faster you recover. Surprise, surprise. It’s been a dull few days, but each day is much better and now I feel more or less back up to speed. Physical activity is annoying in that simple things like climbing a flight of stairs can get the head to throbbing, but that’s better now. I’ll certainly be avoiding any sports for a while, especially the hyper-violent, danger-infused game of volleyball.

It’s been an experience, and i guess I’m lucky it wasn’t any worse. Largely, I can safely say that having a concussion hasn’t really affected hasn’t really affected me in any way.

End of discussion.