Tuesday, January 20, 2015

The Curse of MLK Weekend

I think I'm just going to swath Keeper Boy in bubble wrap over MLK weekend from now on. Seriously. He's had three concussions in his young life, and they've ALL occurred over MLK weekend! The latest being this past Sunday; the previous ones being in 2012 (not hockey related) and 2013 (hockey related).

He was kneed in the head while playing goal in his house league hockey game Sunday night. His coach pulled him from play because he was a little dazed. He failed the bench-side concussion screen (called the King Divik test), with a score that was 4.68 seconds slower than his pre-season baseline.

So he had an appointment with the club's concussion specialist last night. She also happens to be one of the trainers at his high school, so that's way convenient. She said since there's no other explanation for the slight headaches he's had on Monday and Tuesday, she was diagnosing him with a concussion, but stated that she felt it's borderline and called it a "mild case." Still, any head injury, especially for someone who has had two previous concussions, is to be taken seriously.

I will say this one looks NOTHING like the previous two. He has no light or sound sensitivity, no nausea, no exhaustion. Just a small headache. So that's good. The trainer thinks he will be cleared in a week or less. And since she's at his school, she just wants him to pop in and check in with her at some point each day.

So... for now, he's not restricted from anything other than actually playing hockey. He can drive, go to school, skate (for work), go to work, do homework, take tests, etc. She basically said it's a trial and error thing at this point... if he's doing something and it gives him a headache, he should stop doing that thing or take a break from it.

Here's hoping for a speedy recovery!

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