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Letter To The Editor 9/19/18
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Concussion Repercussions Highlighted

 

Dear Editor,

Almost nine years after suffering a severe concussion and skull fracture, serious long-term effects have recently occurred that I thought your readers would like to be educated about.

While most of these injuries occur during so-called “contact sports” or automobile accidents, my own occurred during a simple round of golf. The ricochet broke the orbital bone beneath my left eye, my nose in “several” places, and I was concussed. While the medical staff in that community took great care of the immediate injuries, I was unaware of the possible long-term, and serious, consequences of the skull fracture.

Three years ago, I started to have occasional ‘mini-seizures’, during which I could not decipher what someone was saying to me although I could still hear their voice. Additionally, friends and family began to notice memory lapses and temperament fluctuations. Increasingly, loud noises and bright lights could bring on migraine headaches and additional emotional outbursts. As these symptoms were not yet associated to the accident from six years earlier, you can imagine the consequences this had on relationships!

Just last November, I had three Grand Mal seizures in a span of three hours; resulting in a call to our dedicated and well-trained staff at the Escalon Community Ambulance, hospitalization, short- and long-term gaps in memory of up to two weeks, the loss of my driver’s license for three months, a hypersensitivity to light and sound, and prescriptions to life-long seizure medication. The most recent and alarming research finds that repeated exposure to loud noise and light fluctuations can continue to do brain damage!

Please be aware that, while our local high school and college coaches receive training on concussion protocols and consult with local medical personnel to better protect our students and athletes, there may be critical care issues for the rest of an injured person’s life.

Jerry Emery

Former teacher, coach, counselor and administrator