Personal Narrative: Memoir

Concussions are injuries that can occur in day-to-day life but are more commonly found in sports and physical activities. They are injuries that can be avoided, but when they happen they can be very dangerous. Through my years of playing football I have been diagnosed with two separate concussions, but they were both caused by playing football. There are ways to avoid concussions and the techniques should be taken seriously or they can have serious consequences. In this speech I will discuss what concussions are, how concussions happen, and the danger they present when diagnosed with one.

I had always assumed that my legs were strong and that I had decent muscle control, however, this thought was proven wrong at the beginning of my junior year in high school due to a detrimental injury. It was the first game of fall league for basketball, and within the first five minutes I had succumbed to an injury. Tearing my ACL and Meniscus has taught me to continue improving on my strength, not let this one injury keep me down, and to keep a positive mindset.

“In 2012 alone, there were more than 3.8 million reported concussions, twice as many as a decade earlier (Cleveland Medical).” According to the National Library of Medicine, even this seemingly large number of concussions under represents the full number of people who get concussed, because many people don’t seek medical care. In the same way I almost died in 2013. One second I jumped for a high pass and the next, I woke up in the hospital the following day. Many witnesses even profess to me dying on the field. This however, is just one lucky situation in the never ending battle with concussions. Concussions can be caused and worsened by hits to the head, cheap protective equipment, and misdiagnosed injuries.

A concussion is a mild head injury which is sustained by a jolt or impact to one's head. “Concussions can be caused by a variety of traumatic events: motor vehicle accidents, penetrating injuries, sports injuries, strikes, and falls”(Schafer, 2014). Side effects of concussions range from clumsiness. slurred speech, nausea or vomiting, headache, balance problems or dizziness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light and noise, sluggishness, ringing in the ears, personality changes, difficulty concentrating and memory loss. A concussion is similar to a bruise on an arm or leg but instead the bruise is on the tissues of the brain. Since people can’t see the damage of the injury to the brain many concussions go undiagnosed or untreated for days weeks or even years. When a concussion goes undiagnosed or untreated it can result in further head trauma: untreated it can lead to blood clots and tumors in the brain, an onset of parkinson’s disease and in worst cases death. However it wasn't until 2011 that the issue of concussions went into the public spotlight.

What is your name? How old are you? Do you know where you are? These simple questions can go unanswered to people who have suffered a concussion. A concussion is defined as, “a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain induced by traumatic biomechanical forces” (qtd. in Rivera 1). Concussions are most commonly caused by direct force, or trauma, to the head. A concussion, “causes temporary loss of brain function leading to cognitive, physical and emotional symptoms, such as confusion, vomiting, headache, nausea, depression, disturbed sleep, moodiness, and amnesia” (Nordqvist 1). Concussions are common in all sports due to the competitiveness and physicalities that come with the game. College sports include some of the highest rates of concussions with so many competitive athletes in their programs. Concussions are a growing issue in all college sports due to their increasing prevalence, the negligence of severity from the NCAA and coaches, and the long-term mental damage college athletes face.

Concussions can affect kids and teens in the classroom as well. As an A student and star soccer player, Sarah is accustomed to hard work. However, after she sustained a concussion during a varsity soccer game, her freshman year in high school she found herself taking on a new challenge.” (Heads Up 1). For me, recovering from the concussion was harder than recovering from other injuries I’ve had. When I got a concussion, I expected to sit out some games, but I never realized that it would actually hurt to think. Most athletes recover quickly from concussions, but there are other athletes who don’t recover quite as fast. A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury- or TBI- caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or hit by a body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth. This sudden movement

This evidence based practice article explores the persistent concussive symptoms (symptoms lasting more than 90 days post-injury) in students from middle school, high school, and college that obtain many sport-related concussions. The studies by Harmon et al (2013) and Doolan, Day, Maerlender, Goforth & Brolinson (2012), found that just in the United states alone, there are over a million concussions every year and there are at least 50% of the concussions that are not reported. One that acquires a concussion will go through neurocognitive testing, see a physician, and go through screenings and more. Although these methods for management are being done to treat a concussion, there is not any evidence based practice to say that those methods are actually working. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore multiple treatment options, clinical rationale, and outcomes for each treatment. There were 24 cases a clients that were referred the Clinic at the University of Oregon for persistent concussive symptoms related to a sports injury. There were 14 women and 10

About six months ago, my grandma was diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer. Last month, a family member of mine from Vermont called to tell me that she died. The only thing I could do was ask myself “Why? Why did such a terrible thing happen to such an extradentary person?”. I mean I guess it’s natural to assume all things happen for a reason, to think there is a greater intention for our suffering, but I simply can’t think that.

VROOM! The bus goes when the engine starts and drives to school. Ugh! The thought of going to school again and beginning the 2nd grade in Maurice Hawk School. EH. I wasn’t so nervous because I had the same class as my friends. I know my teacher was so nice to me in 2nd grade, because basically all elementary school teachers are really nice to kids like me. Her name was Mrs. Ramirez. I had to run to different classes during that class like speech or just different subjects because I hate the thought of being late. When is was time for speech, my teacher picked my classmate and I up because we forgot to come to class. I know I just said that I hate the thought of being late, but hold your horses! It was only the first day! Give me a break! But anyways, while we were walking slowly and calmly in the hall, we started

I woke up and rustled all my things together and jetted down stairs. I see my mom across the room eating her favorite cereal, Lucky Charms. I slugged around the kitchen still half-awake trying to find a bowl, cereal, and milk. Then I heard a whistle and realized she had my breakfast ready on the table. I sat across from her on the table. The scent of perfume hit my nose, it smelled fruity. Her hair was combed back into a sleek bun. She was wearing a formal white shirt and a black skirt and some heels. I slurped the last of the milk as she was almost out the door. I walked outside and ran to the car. I opened the door and got inside. It was 7:59 am.

Typical, just a typical summer day for me. In fact, everything about it was typical. The time I got up, what I had for breakfast and what projects my dad had in store for me to do on the old house. My other family members would too also get jobs and projects to do around the house. Most of the time everyone would work on separate things and we would get many things accomplished putting us closer to our goal of getting the house on the market. But there would be times where we would have to work with other people. Depending on who you worked with you either got stuff done or you were arguing with that person about the silliest of things which would inevitably cause you to slow done and not get anything done. For me, that was

It was a Saturday morning. I was exhausted from last night’s party so I decided to sleep in. It had only been about 5 minutes after I decided I would sleep longer when my mom called.

Losing someone who is close to you, usually happens to everyone. The difference between people when this situation occurs is how you live after it has happen. My six word memoir was “looking up and hoping you’re there”. My aunt unexpectedly passed away last year in April. No one really understood and to be honest, I still don’t understand why this would happen. I got called up to the office, and my mom picked up my brother and I. She was taking us to the hospital to see her. I didn’t know what state she was in. Then we were brought to the Critical care unit, my heart sunk because I knew this wasn’t good. I prayed and prayed to God that it this wasn't true. By the time we got there, she was considered brain dead. A little background with my

The saying goes, “there are moments in life that can either make or break us.” There was a critical time in my life where that quote really came into play. While other regular fourteen-year-olds were worrying about school, clothes, etc.; I was facing a much more pressing matter. Fighting between the line of life and death with cancer.

It was a sunny morning in California,it was also my 15th birthday.I got out of bed and did my morning routine. I opened my closet to chose what I should where today, I found a dress that was white until your stomach and then was purple with a flow free bottom.I matched some white flats with my dress and headed downstairs.I greeted my mom “Good morning mom.” I noticed that dad was nowhere near by. “Mom where's dad ?” “ Honey something urgent came up so your dad had to step out.How about we get some breakfast from dunkin.” I nodded my head so we stepped out the house.When we arrived I ordered a glazed donut,mom got herself a chocolate sprinkle donut and got dad a pumpkin spice donut.We finished up eating and headed home.