Hello,
I just wanted to share my son's story quickly to maybe give some hope to someone else going through a similar situation. My son was in a skateboarding accident and hit his head. He was wearing a helmet, which got dented, but he seemed OK at first. He got up slowly and shook of the cobwebs, so to speak, and said he thought he was alright. Then about 20 minutes later he got sick to his stomach and threw up. At that point we took him to the E.R. and had a CT scan done. They said the scan showed no fractures or bleeding and after and hour sent us home. My son had a headache and felt tired but seemed good besides that. The next morning is when our world caved in. When he woke up he had a very bad headache and started to get some memory loss. He couldn't remember who the President was or some family vacations, over the next 24 hrs his memory really shut down. He couldn't remember the name of his school, close friends or even his relatives. He forgot almost all the movies he had ever seen. He couldn't even remember certain foods and would ask if he liked that food before eating it. We took him to three different specialists in our area and each had a different opinion but none could really give us any answers. Maybe five days after the accident while in the bath tub he started saying garbled words and his eyes rolled up in his head and I thought he was going to pass out. My wife called the ER to tell them we were bringing him in but after I helped him out of the tub and gave him some orange juice he seemed to regain his senses and appeared stable again.
Every day was an emotional rollercoaster for us as parents with ups and downs in his condition. My son basically spent the next two months in bed with the lights out and free from all noises. He would get up for a few hours each day and eat and talk but then his head would start hurting and he would have to lay down again. The weird thing was is that he could not remember friends, family, vacations, but could still remember how to do his algebra and other subjects. We were giving him plenty of water and some supplements such as magnesium and fish oil. He had a non-stop headache every day that would vary on intensity depending on how active he was.
Warm baths seemed to relax him and calm his head the most. After two months of this he returned to school under the advice of his doctor but was not allowed to take tests or quizzes. For the first week he had to have a student lead him to his class rooms and and all his friends had to reintroduce themselves to him. It was awful for us as parents to watch, we felt so bad for him. Through it all he kept a positive attitude and wanted to keep attending school and move forward. Often his headaches would get too bad and we'd have to pick him up after an hour or two of school. Well school ended but because his grades were so good prior to the accident and he had taken all the state examines the school allowed him to move on and not repeat 7th grade. My wife and I were having doubts that his memory would ever return fully and that his headaches would ever cease. Well, about the third week of June he woke up one morning and his headache was gone, the first time in almost 5 months. Within maybe two or three days his complete memory came back, I would say maybe better than before. He could remember small details from when he was 4 yrs old. I would say he slept more during the summer months than he had before the concussion, but other than that, he seemed back to his old self. He started 8th grade this past fall and took all GHP classes and has a 3.8 GPA. I know what my son had with the memory loss is rare, but for those who are going through the headaches, nausea, mood swings, and sensitivity to light and noise, I can relate. I also know that all head injuries are different and that each person heals differently but there is hope. We went through this awful ordeal for 5 months thinking it may be years and the he would need tutoring just to get by, but with rest, a good diet and supplements (I believe the fish oil really helped) he recovered 100%. Just stay positive, make sure your child gets plenty of sleep and most heal completely, given time. The brain is an amazing organ. We did a lot of research and talked to many doctors so if anyone would like to email me feel free.
Take Care,
John A.