All-Star Experience With Concussions

[KPep]

This is just a rugby helmet basically...

 

[CharlotteASMom]

I have been told it can give you a false sense of security.

Very true. Lots of conflicting reports on these for all sports. We are fortunate that one of the leading sports concussion doctors in the nation practices here in Charlotte. We asked him about helmets (for soccer but same concept). His comment "it can't hurt but more importantly I'd rather her learn how to prevent the collisions in the first place". After going through 4 concussions with my daughter and seeing the actual data the impact tests can pull out (our Doctor designed the test so he was able to pull out very specific pieces that he was concerned about) I think in ten years youth sports will look completely different. Kids are literally losing years of mental skills because of what wound seem a typical hit. It's really scary.

 

[Mom2Cheergirls]

Sorry I was at a playoff game last night with my oldest daughter so I'm just coming back to this. We have been doing a lot of the things suggested here. (Edited to add: she did not attend the playoff game. She stayed home with her dad to sleep while I attended with my other daughter.)

She was in an extension in an assisted one man stunt. She fell forward hitting her forehead on the mat/floor. She does remember that however the coach says she told them she was fine and went back up in the stunt in the next run through and that she does not remember.

Yes that is her in my profile picture. That picture is only a year old so she's still very small for her age. But she sure thinks she is super fierce. LOL so I'm not at all surprised that she climbed right back up into another stunt.

We sent her back to school yesterday morning because ER dr said she could but we brought her home about 1 1/2 hour into it from the symptoms. She did complain that it was hard to concentrate and follow her teacher in her first period class. Since then she has been sleeping, in dark room, no tv, etc. She seems a little better this morning. Although she did say she started to get a headache while in the shower this morning. So she is now back in the quiet, dark, nothing on room.

One of the teachers at the school where I teach has a daughter who received concussion from soccer so I spoke with her about their experience last night as well. She gave me many of the same suggestions you guys have. Thanks!

We are just taking it hour by hour right now. She's asked 3 times already if she can go to the competition today. She knows she isn't performing, getting on stage, doing warmups, etc. But she wants to be there for just the few minutes to cheer her squad on. I guess we will watch her throughout the day to decide. I'm worried getting out, in a crowd, with noise, etc even for a few minutes will just be too much and set us back again.

We will look into finding a specialist in our area to see this coming week. Thanks.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, protocols, and experiences. They are very helpful and were exactly what I was looking for.

Example of things concussion specialist will say. For my girl to return to school light was an issue as was sound. She had permission to wear a hat in school (doctor did not want glasses just a hat to reduce the light) she also needed to eat somewhere quiet cafeteria was too noisy. Plan was made that she could rest 20 minutes in clinic before calling us if needed as she progressed. There are so many little things those doctor notes can provide our specialist had a computer program with the common steps already ready made it easy for him to make a print out and work with the school.

 

[cheerisloving]

I would recommend to let teachers know with doctors notes especially for older kids! I didn't have one when I was concussed and had very little accommodation from some teachers, while others were understanding.

 

[acecheermom]

I would recommend to let teachers know with doctors notes especially for older kids! I didn't have one when I was concussed and had very little accommodation from some teachers, while others were understanding.

She returned to school yesterday and I did just this. I emailed every single teacher to explain the situation over this past weekend. She was going along pretty well until her Language Arts class. In the 2 days of school she missed, she missed 2 tests apparently. She had to make them both up yesterday and while she was making them up the teacher continued to teach! Needless to say that was a set back. She got a terrible headache, was dizzy, and had to call us. I was NOT happy at all.

She did much better once I got her home. She still slept about 14 hours last night. So she decided she wanted to try school again today. I haven't heard from her yet so she may actually make it through the whole day. Fingers crossed.

 

[cheerisloving]

She was going along pretty well until her Language Arts class. In the 2 days of school she missed, she missed 2 tests apparently. She had to make them both up yesterday and while she was making them up the teacher continued to teach! Needless to say that was a set back. She got a terrible headache, was dizzy, and had to call us. I was NOT happy at all.

I was a senior when I had mine, and my best friend was concussed from soccer during senior year. I was diagnosed through Impact, as was my friend, but I had less severe symptoms. Like we've discussed, because her injury was not getting better, she went to the doctor, while I just sat out until I passed my Impact about a month later.

I was able to get through my classes with less critical thinking-gov., AP English for the most part, although I did struggle with more complex assignments (granted my teacher had me for 3 years and I had a good track record with turning things in). My pre calc and AP Environmental Science not so much. APES teacher was VERY VERY accommodating, while my Pre-calc teacher wouldn't adjust because I didn't have an official doctor's note.

My friend, got her concussion at the end of senior year, where the workload was lighter, so she could come on days when she had a lighter schedule, but still struggled through her tougher school days. Teachers were accommodating.

 

[acecheermom]

Update from today: She made it through the entire school day again (YAY) and she said she only had a slight headache during the end of the day. Nothing to major (her words).

She sat out through her cheer practice again. This she is very stressed over but can't be helped I won't negotiate. She is just not starting back yet until we truly feel she's better.

I've sent her to bed already so she should get a solid 10 hours of sleep tonight. Hoping all the quiet and rest helps.

 

[shootingstarsfan]

I would recommend to let teachers know with doctors notes especially for older kids! I didn't have one when I was concussed and had very little accommodation from some teachers, while others were understanding.

I had several concussions in high school and the teachers and school nurse were the worst to work with. My school had four flights of stairs and the nurse refused to give me an elevator pass even with a doctors note. Teachers werent cooperative when it came to homework or having extended time to get work finished.

 

[Twinklestars]

I had several concussions in high school and the teachers and school nurse were the worst to work with. My school had four flights of stairs and the nurse refused to give me an elevator pass even with a doctors note. Teachers werent cooperative when it came to homework or having extended time to get work finished.

Not a concussion, but I have a non-cp with a kidney disorder that causes pain and fatigue. The school nurse, the female teachers, and the receptionist were horrible to deal with at our former school. (One of many reasons that we are no longer there.)

I do not understand the mentality that being at school is more important than your health and well-being.

 

[MakeYourMark]

Update from today: She made it through the entire school day again (YAY) and she said she only had a slight headache during the end of the day. Nothing to major (her words).

She sat out through her cheer practice again. This she is very stressed over but can't be helped I won't negotiate. She is just not starting back yet until we truly feel she's better.

I've sent her to bed already so she should get a solid 10 hours of sleep tonight. Hoping all the quiet and rest helps.

Glad she's feeling better! and you're absolutely doing the right thing with keeping her our of practice. Starting back to sports too early is not good! leads to more damage

 

[Mom2Cheergirls]

Update from today: She made it through the entire school . again (YAY) and she said she only had a slight headache during the end of the day. Nothing to major (her words).

She sat out through her cheer practice again. This she is very stressed over but can't be helped I won't negotiate. She is just not starting back yet until we truly feel she's better.

I've sent her to bed already so she should get a solid 10 hours of sleep tonight. Hoping all the quiet and rest helps.

That is awesome I think mine was out for at least 6 weeks from cheer. She had to be cleared (our specialist gives out CLEARED) tshirts and they make a huge fuss over the kids. She was so happy the day she wore it to the gym. We had a rough time back because she really still was not as quick as before so doing things like jumping into triple back handsprings were a no go or combination tumbling. She moved too quickly back into the tumbling and it really caused a lot of stress. Prayers this does not happen for you all but my recommendation is when she goes back take it slow and remind her that her reflex time maybe slower and it may take some time to get things back 100%. I think that was even harder for mine because feeling good but not being able to make your body do what felt natural before can be really frustrating. All the best.

 

[marissa.d]

I'm glad she seems to be feeling a little better! I'm sure you've read over some of the links provided in the thread so far but just want to reiterate that she should NOT practice when she has no symptoms! 24 hours without symptoms is when she can move into Step 1 of recovery which would be light aerobic activity (like fast walking, swimming etc). If you pass this stage with NO symptoms for 24 hours then you can continue etc. Anytime symptoms return she must stop all progress until 24h with no symptoms again! There are still so many unknowns about concussions and unfortunately most doctors don't know a lot about them unless they specialize in them as people have said, which totally sucks because most people would take their word exactly like they would for a broken bone. I also just want to add that despite doctors giving them, you actually CAN'T diagnose a concussion as mild/moderate etc or grade them because every concussion is different - there isn't a minimum amount of force that can cause one and more symptoms doesn't actually mean the concussion is worse! Hope she's feeling even better and that you find a good specialist in your area!

 

[cheermeup]

They just looked at her, checked her eyes, felt her head, etc and talked with her for a bit. Then they did a head CT. When we left they did give us a stapled set of paperwork but it really is just mostly stuff to look for to bring her back in, and it is says to return to activities 7 to 10 days after symptoms are gone. I don't feel like they gave us any indication of how long this will last.

He just kinda waved her off and said it was a mild concussion. She asked about her comp this weekend and he said "Why don't you wait and see how you feel" I was the one who had to step in and say no way! He then wrote her a note to return to school today so I guess I just naively thought that meant he expected she'd feel better today. Unfortunately not the case.

Off to read the links now. Thanks so much.

Hi, I realize this is a week old, and I should probably read ahead, but...

My daughter had 2 concussions a week apart. The first one her flyer dropped her foot in a scorpion and kicked her in the back of the head, the second one the flyer fell and they butted heads. She didn't tell me about the first concussion, which is why she was at practice when the second one occurred.

She has a doctor's appointment every week to recheck her symptoms and plan for the next week. I believe that you need to look into this further. My daughter's concussions occurred on September 27 and October 4 and she is only in school for 3 hours a day, and that is a struggle for her.

You sound smart, so I will tell you this, don't let her go back to cheer until a doctor who knows concussion protocol evaluates her. There is something called second impact syndrome that can lead to death if kids have a second concussion before their first one is healed. I am thankful that my daughter didn't have second impact syndrome.

I have a lot to say on this subject, but will stop here and read the rest of the thread.

 

[cheermeup]

Doctors are still yet to learn a lot about concussions. We are getting there, but we don't have that much technology to help with diagnosis. At least, that's what I learned from the class researchers gave us last winter.

There 4 cases you HAVE to go to the ER: Injury to the spine suspected, aggravating symptoms, new symptoms or loss of consciouness. Other than that, it's not necessary to go. They'll only tell you to stop brain activity (no school, no screens as tv or cellphone) and physical activity.

There is a fifth case: if the patient is not getting better after a week. You then need a clinical evaluation.

The diagnosis is usually based on the SCAT3 (you can look it up), at least it's the protocol here. Before getting back to contact sport, she has to do it again so the physician can check if there is a progression.

I am a pediatric nurse and I feel that every concussion a cheerleader experiences should be evaluated by a doctor. Cheerleading is high impact contact sport and we only get one brain in this lifetime.

She returned to school yesterday and I did just this. I emailed every single teacher to explain the situation over this past weekend. She was going along pretty well until her Language Arts class. In the 2 days of school she missed, she missed 2 tests apparently. She had to make them both up yesterday and while she was making them up the teacher continued to teach! Needless to say that was a set back. She got a terrible headache, was dizzy, and had to call us. I was NOT happy at all.


She did much better once I got her home. She still slept about 14 hours last night. So she decided she wanted to try school again today. I haven't heard from her yet so she may actually make it through the whole day. Fingers crossed.

I hope you've seen a concussion specialist by now. My daughter's doctor fills out a concussion accommodation paper each week and the school has to go with it. My daughter is allowed at school, but listening only, no writing, homework, or test taking. She is allowed to read at home in 15 minute spurts, because it is quiet at home. None of these absences count against her either. Please do yourself a favor and go see a doctor, we went to a concussion clinic for one appointment because my daughter's doctor couldn't fit her in and she had to be seen because of a major setback and that only took a day to get in.

 

[cheermeup]

Update from today: She made it through the entire school day again (YAY) and she said she only had a slight headache during the end of the day. Nothing to major (her words).

She sat out through her cheer practice again. This she is very stressed over but can't be helped I won't negotiate. She is just not starting back yet until we truly feel she's better.

I've sent her to bed already so she should get a solid 10 hours of sleep tonight. Hoping all the quiet and rest helps.

Any headache is bad.

A concussion is a traumatic brain injury, it's like having a broken leg, not getting it casted, and thinking it only hurt a little today when I walked on it. These kids only have one brain, a specialist needs to be in charge, kids are tough and will gut through things to have their life back. My daughter was a flyer for years, when we go to her concussion appointments, she can't even balance on one leg (think a lib on the ground) without falling over.