Student Athletes Discussing How Concussions Effect Them Can Affect Students in Kansas and Missouri

At age 14, Sarah Rainey sustained a concussion while playing soccer.  She lost consciousness for a short period of time, but when she regained consciousness, she took a sip of water and got back in the game.  Rainey doesn’t remember the rest or the game, including the two overtimes.  Over a month after that game, she hasn’t been able to play again and is struggling in school.  She constantly feels a pressure in her head, has very frequent headaches and it takes her three times longer to do pretty much anything.  Sarah even has to use a calculator for simple mathematical equations.

She expected to be sidelined for a little while, but didn’t expect the concussion to last for so long.  Rainey feels that the C.D.C.’s slogan, “It’s better to miss one game than a whole season.”, softens the seriousness of concussions.

A former high school student, Michele Pelton, sustained a concussion her senior year while playing soccer and she hasn’t been the same since.  Instead of doing the normal senior activities, Pelton was usually at home because of the issues she was having due to the concussion she sustained.  Depression, headaches, slow processing speed, memory problems, and being unable to concentrate plague her every day.

Sarah Rainey and Michele Pelton told their stories to a house panel in the hopes of preventing others from having to suffer every day as they do.  The main topics of the committee were; concentrating on educating teachers about recognizing students suffering from concussions and making sure that they are understand those students needs, and discussing studies that show that females seem to be more likely to be adversely affected by concussions than males.

There are talks of putting money into each state so that teachers, coaches, parents of athletes, and student athletes will know how to recognize and treat concussions.

Concussion symptoms often include the following; headaches, listlessness, confusion, inattentiveness, lack of response when addressed, depression, memory issues, nausea, pressure in the head, sensitivity to light and noise, vomiting, et cetera.

If you believe that you or a loved one has suffered a concussion, seek immediate professional medical attention.  Then spend the next several days getting mental and physical rest.  No television, school, homework, music or bright lights.  Stay in a dimly lit and quite room.  The Kansas City brain and spinal cord injury attorneys may be able to help.  Call 816-471-5111 for a free consultation or go online and “Just Ask”.  You can also add the Kansas City Accident Attorneys on facebook or twitter.