[Waste of Kaitlyn]

I got my neck brace off a couple of weeks ago and was told that my neck is now rather fragile so I have to "take it easy" and whatnot so as not to break my neck again.

But last week I went back to the same camp I worked at last year (the one i had hurt myself at) to work in the kitchen and I got a little carried away.

I went watersliding and I got my head stuck in a tube and smashed it against the side among other things. I got (lightly) tackled a bit, and I fell down a bunch during games. I don't blame the people there for playing rough with me during the games, it's my own fault for playing the way I was.

My neck doesn't really hurt that much, but I do have a monstrous headache and am really tired and sore all over. they were pretty long days and we stayed up pretty late (watching movies and hanging out). I usually had a nap after breakfast and lunch but so did most of the other kitchen staff ha ha.

anyways I do realize that it hasn't even been a full year yet, I've had atleast 2 separate concussions (concussive episodes?) and a broken neck, i'm still young and I'm probably going to be scolded for putting myself at risk.

but how do you live like this? both mentally and physically?

During the school year I'm busy enough with the mental aspects of school and with my job that i'm fine with not doing sports and I was kind of ok with having to give up gymnastics and some of my fun little physical activities but when summer comes around this camp is a huge part of my life and I usually spend the whole summer working there.

It's pretty intense, but they're really good with accomodating for me. right now I've only worked this one week but I might be working there all of august as a cabin leader, and I'll have to be able to take care of 8 kids with another 19ish-year-old for a week.

I'm hoping I'll be able to do this. like we get breaks throughout the day so i could nap and stuff. so yeah.

But really, back to how do you live like this?

I'm still kind of dealing with reading /memory problems, mental issues, when i do hard physical activity i get headaches and blehk. like, I still have issues. and I'm guessing they're probably from the car accident in april so I shouldn't be getting too freaked out about this being from september (like it's not dragging on? but it is!?).

but what if it drags on through my grade twelve and through when I want to go to University? How am I supposed to live like this? how am I supposed to get good grades and get an awesome career that I'd want when.. I can't? My gr. 11 marks were absolutely horrid and I'm pretty sure that my teachers, friends and family think I'm "better in the head" like they've always thought. grr.

I dunno. I like doing things and I like learning. but my body doesn't :/ thanks bud. how do you guys get through the day without dying of boredom?

[Mark in Idaho]

As one of just a few on this forum who has lived for decades after a high school experience like you've had, I can say for certain that you can live "like this." You just need to make better choices.

There are plenty of ways you can reduce the risk to your head. Rough-housing with the guys is not acceptable. Water slides and roller coasters can be safe if you take the correct precautions. You need to become head conscious. You need to tell your friends that your life depends on them not causing an impact to your head. You may need to find some new friends to replace the ones who just don't get it.

Stay away from drinking and those who do. Both put you at risk. You need to behave with your life in mind. The awesome job will evaporate if you develop post traumatic dementia at a young age. Football players who develop post traumatic dementia usually start declining in their early 40's. By their mid 40's, many have taken their own lives. You do not want to be like them.

Camp is fine if you get good sleep, Avoid the rough housing, Convince your friends and yourself that your head is fragile as an egg, and make other better choices. Unfortunately, your generation has been taught to selfishly live life to the fullest/wildest with a self-absorbed viewpoint. You will not last to your old age unless to make some serious changes.

I stopped all contact sports and risky sports. I took great care to avoid risks to my head. Since my last concussion in high school, I have suffered 10 more concussions or sub-concussive impacts due to complete accidents. I bumped my head on an overhead obstruction twice. I was assaulted from behind. I have tripped and fallen. One bump from an auto accident. And a bunch of sub-concussive impacts from just normal low risk life activities.

There will be plenty of accidental opportunities to bump your head without taking know risks. The rewards you have to look forward to are many. You want to be around to marry off your kids, hold your grandbabies, tell your grandkids what life was like when you were a teen, etc. Career achievements are nothing compared to leaving a heritage to your kids and grandkids.

I've waterskied, snow skied, road motorcycles, hunted, fished, hiked, traveled some of the world, competed in cross country and distance running in track at championship levels, excelled in my many self-employment businesses, supported a family of five(my wife stayed at home), watched my son have three great kids who love their grandpa, (still waiting for my daughters to have kids) built a mountain cabin, raised and trained beagles, conceived of patentable inventions, fixed just about anything my family could break, stayed married to the same woman for over thirty years (it takes a lot of self-discipline to keep my PCS symptoms from wrecking my marriage), and even more, all after having an academic collapse and more from concussions suffered at 9, 10, 11, and 15.

There is definitely life after concussion. You may have to look a little harder to find it and keep it. If you apply yourself to your brain's needs, by the time you are middle age, you will be so far ahead of your peers you will thing they have the brain damage.

Now, buckle down and apply that smart brain of yours to create a long life for yourself. You can do it. Make good choices. Nobody can make them for you.

And learn to ask for help when you need it.

My best to you.

[PCSLearner]

Hey, Kaitlyn! Wish I had some answers for you. My daughter was injured around the same time as you (last summer). She hasn't had any new injuries to complicate her recovery, as you have, but she still feels "headaches and bleck" after hard exercise sometimes as you do.

She seems better cognitively but she definately doesn't tolerate extended periods of concentration or stress as she did before.

I completely understand that you are wondering what is in store for you in the future...will you be able to tolerate college? A family? A career? The only answer I can give you is that the decisions you make today will impact those things in the future.

Vision therapy is helping my daughter. She went four weeks without a headache and very little nausea. We just got home from a busy vacation and today was one of those WHAMO days where she felt nauseated and foggy thinking all day long - no headache though. At least now those days are fewer and farther between.

She has gone back to her activities a little at a time. She surfed and slolom skiied behind the boat, swam a bunch, and jet skiied last week. I won't let her wakeboard this year...too much potential for faceplants. She sort of got behind on her vision therapy during vacation and I think today is paybacks for all of that.

I can't tell you much to help...just that it really sucks to deal with this at any age much less as a teenager. I appreciate what Mark said about telling yourself and your friends that your as fragile as an egg. You don't need to become super paranoid about everything, but you might need to cross waterslides and horseplay off your list for awhile. You can still do all the other stuff with your friends (listen to music, talk to boys, watch movies, etc).

You've lost a lot this year, just as my daughter has, and I am sorry for you both. The key here, I think, is to try to focus on what you still have ahead of you and make decisions every single day to insure that what's ahead is the best it can possibly be. I know it's hard...hang in there girlie.