Hi there,

I've been away from the forum for awhile but came back and read your story; and I must say I feel like I can really relate. I was a varsity hockey player and have been out with my 1st concussion for over 1.5 yrs now. My only symptoms are headaches and fatigue; and some days it just seems surreal to me that one single concussion can do so much damage. I absolutely loved hockey and working out. It's been driving me crazy that I can't do either. Walking is the best I've got.

Earlier you were struggling with the idea of having to make the call to avoid contact sports. I can tell you my approach. For the longest time my mindset was "I'm not going to call it quits after only 1 concussion; 2 then I will consider hanging up the skates, but not only 1". But then the 1 year mark rolled around, with headaches still every day, and I started having doubts. I have still left it that I will not make the decision until the decision needs to be made (ie I am 100% symptom free and cleared for activity), at this point I realize playing competitively as an elite athlete again is out of the cards; right now I just haven't completely ruled out playing pick-up hockey for fun somewhere down the road.

I'm still "part of" the varsity team- will go and watch practices/games and offer my support. It's tough; but I after much thought I've decided the benefits of being part of the team and the game I love slightly outweigh the pain caused from being on the sidelines and missing out on what I love to do.