So, I got a random email from friend yesterday saying that she liked the blog. “Very sweet,” I thought.
On my drive home from work, I started thinking about her and how I got to know her family. I actually met her oldest daughter first. She plays travel soccer for the age group one year ahead of MyGirl’s. I met her for the first time when she enrolled her oldest in the speed and agility class I had orchestrated during the winter a year or two ago.
In the fall of this year, her oldest daughter, a goalie, was playing for her middle school team. She got kicked in the head. I wasn’t there, but from what I have heard, it was a pretty serious blow. I can’t remember if she lost consciousness or not. But, the daughter ended up with a concussion.
Growing up, I always thought of a concussion as nothing really. Everyone I ever knew that had one was fine. They just didn’t “feel like themselves” for a few days. It seemed like such a trivial injury.
But, years in healthcare have taught me differently. In medical records, concussions are sometimes recorded as Mild TBI’s. TBI = Traumatic Brain Injury. That sounds worse, right? How about, closed head injury? How does that sound?? To me – much worse than “concussion.”
They are serious business. Serious. Business.
Seeking rehabilitation is crucial from the very beginning if a concussion is suspected. And sometimes, that is harder than you would think. If you doubt me, just ask my friend. After her daughter was diagnosed with a concussion, she followed up with a pediatric neurologist as directed by the ER doc. As I understand it, the neurologist did a few tests, but none that could actually measure improvement so that my friend would know if her daughter was getting better.
She followed the directions of the neurologist, but realized after 7-8 weeks post-accident that her daughter was not improving. Her daughter was still having headaches on a daily basis and was struggling in school. So, she sought a different kind of care and started looking for a pediatric neurologist that specialized in concussion management. She finally found one and now her daughter is on brain rest and has been for several weeks. Her daughter cannot go to school or even be in areas with lots of noise or with bright lights. Read: She can’t leave the house.
After she is released from brain rest, she will begin concussion therapy. She will have to do therapeutic exercises that will re-train her brain to perform as it did before the injury occurred.
Athletes that play contact sports, like soccer, are at the greatest risk of getting concussions. So, be aware of signs and symptoms.
If your child is diagnosed with a concussion, make sure that you see a physician that specializes in concussion management. (Look for a physician that provides ImPACT testing.)
Take the time off that is recommended. Sustaining a second brain injury before symptoms of the first brain injury has been known to cause severe, irreversible damage.
It’s better to sit out a game than a season. And it’s better to sit out a season than a lifetime.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Answer: They Play Soccer
Question: What happens to the little girls that tear the heads off Barbie dolls?
So, at the ripe old age of 11, MyGirl has successfully secured her first red card. And guess what, they’re not easy to get. Leave it to her to be an overachiever.
I swear, I couldn’t believe it. She wasn’t so upset with the red card. She was much more upset that she had to sit out a game in a tournament. It was kind of…sad.
It was the second game of the tournament. We were playing a team from Arkansas. (Yeah, I know…) They were a physical team, no big deal, we can handle that. They had two Amazon Girls that were about 5 foot 8 (no exaggeration). These girls were supposed to be 11 or 12 years old, but I swear I saw one of them driving out of the parking lot when we left. (Okay, a little exaggeration there.) In the first half, one of the Amazon Girls from Arkansas roughs up our goalie on a corner kick and they score. They scored again in the next 2 minutes. And just like that, our team is down 0-2.
A few minutes later, StrikerGirl gets a warning from the ref about pushing. And a few minutes after that, MyGirl gets a yellow card for it. After the game I found out that the ref said, “Didn’t I just tell you not to push like that?” MyGirl said, “No. You told her.” Yellow Card. At this point, she tops the leader board with yellow cards after being tied with StrikerGirl for almost a whole season.
After half-time, they score again. GAG! With about 3 minutes to go in the game, MyGirl pushes a girl. It started as both girls leaning on each other neutrally to gain control of the ball, but after a few steps, you could see there was nothing neutral about it. Ref blows the whistle and MyGirl sweeps the girls legs, the girl falls backwards and lands on the soccer ball. Red Card. She says she didn’t hear the whistle blow. (Umm, yeah, I believe her.) Luckily, the girl she “tripped” rolled around on the ground for about 2 minutes so the team only had to play a man down for a minute.
MyGirl is a sweet girl. She really is. When I tell people that she is a menace on the soccer field, they don’t believe me. She plays basketball for her school this year and she’s the same way on the basketball court. She pushed a girl down this year and they weren’t even close to the ball when it happened. A teacher from her school told me last week that she is impressed with how tough she is on the court.
The teacher added: “Sometimes it looks like she might even push those girls on purpose.”
Me: “Umm, yeah, I think she does.”
Teacher: “No!! She would never do that! Every time we see her, we call her ‘Sunshine’!”
Me (thinking): “Well, I bet none of her opponents at any sport (except bowling) would call her that.”
So, just know, she’s not mean – all the time. She is a nice girl. (That’s what I keep telling myself.)
Here’s what else I have found out…Red cards get mixed reviews. Some people were giving her high fives. Some people look at her like she’s a monster, then they find their children and walk away. (Exaggeration – kind of.)
Clarification here –We didn’t condone the behavior. We talked to her about stopping after the whistle blows and about hurting other people – on purpose. And then we bought her some red flare for her bag to remember her first one. Also in general, the people that give her high fives are my kind of people.
(SIDEBAR: StrikerGirl and MyGirl both play on the same basketball team. And while MyGirl may lead in Yellows and Reds in soccer – I should point out that StrikerGirl leads in Technical Fouls.)
So, at the ripe old age of 11, MyGirl has successfully secured her first red card. And guess what, they’re not easy to get. Leave it to her to be an overachiever.
I swear, I couldn’t believe it. She wasn’t so upset with the red card. She was much more upset that she had to sit out a game in a tournament. It was kind of…sad.
It was the second game of the tournament. We were playing a team from Arkansas. (Yeah, I know…) They were a physical team, no big deal, we can handle that. They had two Amazon Girls that were about 5 foot 8 (no exaggeration). These girls were supposed to be 11 or 12 years old, but I swear I saw one of them driving out of the parking lot when we left. (Okay, a little exaggeration there.) In the first half, one of the Amazon Girls from Arkansas roughs up our goalie on a corner kick and they score. They scored again in the next 2 minutes. And just like that, our team is down 0-2.
A few minutes later, StrikerGirl gets a warning from the ref about pushing. And a few minutes after that, MyGirl gets a yellow card for it. After the game I found out that the ref said, “Didn’t I just tell you not to push like that?” MyGirl said, “No. You told her.” Yellow Card. At this point, she tops the leader board with yellow cards after being tied with StrikerGirl for almost a whole season.
After half-time, they score again. GAG! With about 3 minutes to go in the game, MyGirl pushes a girl. It started as both girls leaning on each other neutrally to gain control of the ball, but after a few steps, you could see there was nothing neutral about it. Ref blows the whistle and MyGirl sweeps the girls legs, the girl falls backwards and lands on the soccer ball. Red Card. She says she didn’t hear the whistle blow. (Umm, yeah, I believe her.) Luckily, the girl she “tripped” rolled around on the ground for about 2 minutes so the team only had to play a man down for a minute.
MyGirl is a sweet girl. She really is. When I tell people that she is a menace on the soccer field, they don’t believe me. She plays basketball for her school this year and she’s the same way on the basketball court. She pushed a girl down this year and they weren’t even close to the ball when it happened. A teacher from her school told me last week that she is impressed with how tough she is on the court.
The teacher added: “Sometimes it looks like she might even push those girls on purpose.”
Me: “Umm, yeah, I think she does.”
Teacher: “No!! She would never do that! Every time we see her, we call her ‘Sunshine’!”
Me (thinking): “Well, I bet none of her opponents at any sport (except bowling) would call her that.”
So, just know, she’s not mean – all the time. She is a nice girl. (That’s what I keep telling myself.)
Here’s what else I have found out…Red cards get mixed reviews. Some people were giving her high fives. Some people look at her like she’s a monster, then they find their children and walk away. (Exaggeration – kind of.)
Clarification here –We didn’t condone the behavior. We talked to her about stopping after the whistle blows and about hurting other people – on purpose. And then we bought her some red flare for her bag to remember her first one. Also in general, the people that give her high fives are my kind of people.
(SIDEBAR: StrikerGirl and MyGirl both play on the same basketball team. And while MyGirl may lead in Yellows and Reds in soccer – I should point out that StrikerGirl leads in Technical Fouls.)
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