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Concussion Symptom Development
The first thing Timmy remembers was walking off the field. He has a headache, and blurry vision. Later on that day, he has a hard time concentrating when his grandma tried to ask him about school. Finally, after trying to play tag outside with his cousins, he throws up. Timmy's mom sends him to bed. -
Time of Injury
Timmy was playing in his family's traditional New Year's Day football game when he got hit in the head by his grandpa. -
Period: to
Feeling Better
Timmy wakes up then next several mornings and feels much better. While he still has a headache, and is somewhat emotional, he is s till excited for school to start up again in a few days. -
First Day Back at School
Timmy's headache is mostly gone when he goes back to school on Monday morning. Math, his favorite subject, is the first hour of the day. -
The Return of the Symptoms
After only 30 minutes, Timmy has a pouding headache and starts to feel sick. He tells his teacher and is excused to go visit the nurse. From there, he calls his mom and she takes him to the doctor. After taking a detailed history and completing a thorough exam, the doctor tells Timmy and his mom that he has a concussion. -
Stage 1: Concussion Recovery
Timmy goes home that day and rests all day and night. The doctor has instructed him not to go back to school until his symptoms are gone, which didn't happen until 3 days later. -
Concussion Recovery: Stage 2
Timmy was not allowed to look at screens, such as the television, computer, or cell phone, until the end of the following week. This included all powerpoint presentations. Furthermore, he was supposed to stop doing all school work and homework if any of his symptoms started coming back. -
Concussion Recovery: Stage 3
On Monday, because Timmy is symptom-free, he is allowed to start using screens and doing all of his work. Today is also the first day he is allowed to start doing activity that elevates his heart rate for the fist time. -
Concussion Recovery: Final Stages
After slowly adding in more cognitive and physcial activity, Timmy is finally able to function at his normal, healthy levels. He has a lot of work to do to get caught up in school. Now Timmy and his family know how serious concussions can be. In a follow-up appointment with his doctor, Timmy learns that he was lucky and that his symptoms could have lasted much longer. He was also told that should he ever get another concussion, it is likely that it will take much longer to get better.
