The myths about concussions and the shocking lack of understanding by people who should know more about them is deeply disturbing.

A friend told me of a recent incident at a school where a kid was wrestling and was dropped on his head.  He was unconscious, and GET THIS, the teacher said he was OK and did not call emergency services.  The Principal also did not call for medical assistance.  The kid is currently experiencing severe concussion symptoms.  

Here is an excellent article by writer Julia Nunes:

My son was benched by a bodycheck

Concussions = Acquired Brain Injury

I played in the Toronto Symphony for almost 30 years and my career was ended by a Acquired Brain Injury (or ABI), commonly known as a concussion.

With the NFL and NHL headlines about CTE and concussions/acquired brain injury (which is the medical term for it - brain injury - sounds serious, yes?), perhaps this might be an opportune time to make a contribuition to the literature.  

In it,  I write of my own expereinces and the knowledge gleaned from my constant research into figuring out 'what was wrong'.  It may be of interest to some that I write a bit about Sidney Crosby and the possible similarities between his brain injury and mine.  

Like Crosby and like Julia Nunes' son in her piece below, I had a secondary injury.  Mine was a year after the original one, and it halted my recovery, sent me backwards in time, and made symptoms worse than they had been after a year of recovery - in fact, in some ways, they were as bad or worse than they were after the original injury.  They were just different, to be sure.

I am happy to report that, though it took more than 5 years since the original ABI, I feel that I am 95% of what I was before whacking my head.

HERE is a link to my article "Hey Coach:  Are Concussions Really Brain Injuries?"

Make no mistake - they are one and the same thing.

School Teachers and Principals Should Know Better...

My Journey Of Recovery From An Acquired Brain Injury