my little one got a concussion :(

[JD]

feeling like a terrible mom today....

my little one got a concussion yesterday....if you can believe it , merely stroking, and not fast at that, down the ice at the rink.... all of a sudden she slipped, skates forward, head back, her head bounced...by this point I was on the ice, and she was really still....thank god she didn't actually lose consciousness...

she was confused for over half an hour, didn't know her name,went to emerg immediately---mild to moderate range off ice for 10 days minimum and all gym classes... she still doesn't remember the fall...

First thing she said to the dr after 10 days off, miffed---I am going to miss competition!!! [not happy]...boy did we straighten her out then and there....lucky for us sports doc was for some reason on call that night, so she is going to be cleared by the sports medicine clinic at the university before she gets to go back....

Very, very scary...no sleep last night..its weird to think that in the blink of an eye, something so awful can happen

Top it all off-she is embarrassed that it wasn't a double axel she fell on.....

And to think we kept her away from pairs because we thought it could give her a concussion.....just goes to show, anytime, anywhere....

So please pray that she feels better soon...as her head is aching....as you can imagine... :(

[quarkiki2]

Poor sweetie! Poor Mom! I hope that she is feeling better soon.

[garyc254]

As with all accidents and most injuries, they happen in mere seconds but the effects can last a long time.

Hope she is feeling better soon!!! You, too.

Good vibes sent to both of you.

[JDC1]

So sorry to hear that. It usually is when doing nothing that we get hurt the worst, because our guard is down.

Hope she feels better soon.

J

[gardener]

Please do not feel like a terrible mom...would you rather keep her locked in her room all day so she never takes a risk? Of course not. You're a great mom for supporting her in what she loves to do.

A funny comment is that my son is a serious taekwondo competitor. In this sport, the other competitor is actually trying to take his head off and gets credit for it when he does. However, the only injuries I recall the kids at his school ever getting (in a 5-year period) which would stop them from training a week or more all were from bones broken when fooling around kicking balls around in their front yards or playing basketball or something. That is not to say that I don't worry when he competes, because I sure do, but I have convinced myself that he and his trusted coach would not put him into a situation where he dosen't belong.

My daughter also figure skates and it seems overall a pretty safe sport. If anyone disagrees on that topic, I'd love to learn more. I'm not counting elite athletes in the news here, who do seem to be famous for injuries.

[flo]

Hi,
Good for you and the physician for keeping her off the ice. There was a recent article about the dangers of second concussions before the athelete has recovered from the first. It's becomming more common with soccer and hockey players with some very serious consequences.
Here's the link. It was published October 14th in the Baltimore Sun.
http://www.sunspot.net/bal-te.md.concussion14oct14.story

[Mrs Redboots]

Poor your daughter! I do hope she feels better soon - concussion is horrible, and can take longer than you would think possible to recover from.

Please don't blame yourself - you are learning the hard way that you can't protect your child from everything bad that happens in life. And we all wish we could.....

And reassure your daughter that everybody's worst falls come when they are doing something easy....

[garyc254]

Originally posted by Mrs Redboots
And reassure your daughter that everybody's worst falls come when they are doing something easy....

Never a truer word. Many years ago I had dislocated my knee. I had a snow skiing trip planned and asked the orthopaedist if I had to cancel it. He said "No. You won't hurt your knee while skiing. If you hurt it, it will be while walking down the stairs at the hotel." In other words: doing something easy.

[dbny]

I hope your daughter recovers ASAP. Good for you for putting your foot down about staying off the ice.

Originally posted by gardener
My daughter also figure skates and it seems overall a pretty safe sport. If anyone disagrees on that topic, I'd love to learn more. I'm not counting elite athletes in the news here, who do seem to be famous for injuries.

I do disagree. I think figure skating is intrinsically dangerous. I know lots of people, mostly adults, but some kids too, who have broken bones, sprained various joints, had stitches, suffered concussions etc. Both of my daughters and my husband also skate, and I consider ourselves to be fortunate to have had only one broken bone and three stitches among us. Being the owner of the broken bone, I am always aware of the possibilities, and also glad that it was me, and not another family member. OTOH, it's not free fall parachuting or hang gliding :)

[icenut84]

Hope she feels better soon! And the others are right, the worst falls do come on the easy stuff, when you're maybe not paying as much attention as you would be on i.e. a double axel. The most painful falls I've had were when hopping onto the ice and on a forward crossover! I also had a not very nice one on a mohawk. It happens.

Get well soon to your daughter! :)

[NickiT]

Poor you and poor daughter. I hope she feels better soon. I know it's hard, but don't blame yourself and don't let her feel bad for falling on simple stuff. Like everyone else has said, this is usually the time when most accidents do happen. I can certainly vouch for that since I wasn't doing anything spectacular when I had my bad injury.

Nicki

[melanieuk]

What a fright you must've got.
I have that same worry when my 4 year and 6 year old take to the ice.

Hope she heals fine.

[JD]

Thanks so much everyone...

this is a great place to come when you need to vent, worry, feel terrible, cry a little....

We [husband and me] and little one, have all been feeling better readiny everyone's lovely notes....

Husband played competitive soccer till his early twenties- he was much more used to this stuff than I, said be careful,but she'd get over it...

I just felt like a terrible mom...but you're right, can't lock her up...throw out the skates....grin...


She's feeling much better today....planning to help me make a treat for dinner.....hopefully all continues to go well

Thanks all....have a good day

[backspin]

Hey, JD, how's the little one doing?

I agree w/ everyone else re. the worst falls being on the easy stuff.

Remind her of that year when Todd Eldrege tripped during the warmup at Skate America (doing NOTHING), & dislocated his shoulder! If even he can do it, she shouldn't feel bad.

[Yazmeen]

Yes, JD, how is she doing? Let us know.

Beth

[singerskates]

Been there myself banging my head on the ice and getting a concussion. Mine wasn't so bad as hers. You are a good mom. You took your daughter to the doctor right away and even saw a sports doc to boot. Better to withdraw from competition because of serious injury, than to skate sick and look bad and risk futher injury. At least she can say she's got war wounds from skating. No one has to know what she was doing on the ice at the time. May God keep you and your daughter. God Bless!

Brigitte

[JD]

She's doing better...sort of....

CT scan was just fine.....no swelling, no bleeding internally, everything good to go, just a bump on the head....she is cleared for takeoff as of this Wed...

since everything is clear, the Doc said she can go out on the ice after Wed (today) when she is ready...she is planning to go for a half hour on Fri just to get her legs back and we will see from there....

She was a bit dizzy Monday morning, but Dr saw her and thought dizziness might be lack of rest on the weekend [hyper girl in motion] or a virus, since there is nothing showing in her CT scan, and quite a few people have a flu virus right now,

The headache could be on and off for a month...

She has a little bump, all perfectly normal....her head hurts when she first gets up in the morning, but she is fine after that...

Hyper as hell, chafing to get out on the ice....

A friend of ours has made a new product-a type of headband with a piece in the back that helps prevent concussions [protecting the back of the head] made for skaters-since his daughter, who was a skater, had 4.....it should be on the market later this month...which we are picking up tomorrow...it apparently looks very similar to a headband with a wider piece in the back-I'll update you all when we actually go see it....

Thanks everyone for your concern....will let you know what we think of the headband....

[jasmine]

Originally posted by JD
...
A friend of ours has made a new product-a type of headband with a piece in the back that helps prevent concussions [protecting the back of the head] made for skaters-since his daughter, who was a skater, had 4.....it should be on the market later this month...which we are picking up tomorrow...it apparently looks very similar to a headband with a wider piece in the back-I'll update you all when we actually go see it....

Thanks everyone for your concern....will let you know what we think of the headband....

Hi JD,

Glad your daughter's better.

The girls in our synchro team all wear fake bun hairpieces on the back of their heads - and it's not just for artistic impression! It does save them if they do fall over backwards ...