(I originally posted this on the newbie board, but felt it belongs here also)
Hi! My 12 yr old son plays hockey and took an elbow to the head three weeks ago, which pushed him into the area where the boards and plexiglas meet. He got off the ice and was back on in about two minutes, so we just chalked it up to a nasty hit (and player). He complained that night of a slight headache, but felt fine in the morning and went to his baseball tournament. During the game, my husband went over to him and rubbed his head to congratulate him on a nice hit, and my son winced and backed away, saying his head hurt to the touch. We checked the hockey helmet, but there was only a slight mark on it and no cracks. This continued for a couple of days, and his pediatrician said it was just a bruise.

I should also mention that this appt was a followup because he had a virus the week before. Also, he has grown over 3 inches in the past 9 months and seems to have added another inch or two in the past two weeks! During the next week or so, he was extremely fatigued and had headaches. I contacted the dr again, who ordered a CT scan, as well as mono and blood tests. All came back normal. The dr said it just seemed like the fatigue, headaches, and virus all seemed to be related to the excessive growth he was going thru (we also had to buy him new shoes and skates during that time period (1.5 sizes!), which weakens his immune system. This all happened within the past month. Then, the other day he came home from a friend's house and said that he was having some intermittent double vision and last night he left baseball practice because he was having difficulty seeing the ball as it was blurry.

This prompted another call to the pediatrician, who said that he needed to see an eye dr--whom he saw this morning. She found nothing to indicate a reason why he would be seeing double. My son has sometimes been overly dramatic with illness, so my husband and I are having difficulty trusting the accuracy of his ailments. The extreme fatigue and headaches have gone away during the last 4-5 days, but I am so worried about him!! I've been reading all day about the post-concussive syndrome and can't help but wonder if this is what he has?!! I spoke with the pediatrician again, and she said that I should wait a few days to see if the "double vision" clears up, and if not I should have him seen by a neurologist.

I'm so worried, and I can't help but wonder if this is all a big coincidence with the timing of everything else going on. He's eating well and otherwise is very healthy. I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts on this. Thanks for having a place where I can get this off my chest.

UPDATE: Two days later and he claims that his double vision is all better. He insisted that he could play baseball--so hubby went out back to throw a few to him. Caught the first one fine (with his head angled to the side). Told him to face head straight and he caught the ball with his eye! He insisted that his glove was just in the wrong spot and has continued to try to "prove" he's just fine. However, he keeps looking at things with his head turned to the side so he's only looking out one eye. He insists this is normal. No more headaches and wants to get out and do things, but we're leery and are going to limit his activities while we wait for the appt with the neurologist. Only 3 weeks since injury and normal CT, eye exam---am I being overly concerned?

I don't think you are being overly concerned. It is very likely that the head injury caused the blurred vision. Vision problems are one of many symptoms associated with head injury. If he still has symptoms associated with the injury, that means that the brain has not healed. I would be cautious and not allow him to play sports until complete resolution of symptoms. If his brain is not fully healed, another hit will make things much worse. You should at least restrict his activities until you see the neuro.

You are doing a great job of being just cautious enough.

I would definately keep it up. Its fine to let him do a little catch with someone that is watching to make sure he is fine. I would definately
restrict what he is doing though. And keep a close eye on if the headaches
return. I would tell him its important if they return even slightly that he let
you know. Even if he doesn't need medicine.

Just so you can keep a eye on things. Let him know its normal to have it return but to go away again. And that its part of the recovery.

And that if he doesn't take it easy that he might not be able to do sports anymore. So its really important.

Donna

As I write, I am sitting in the hospital with my son falling asleep beside me. It turns out that this was all due to Lyme disease, which caused Lyme meningitis! After doing some research over the weekend, I spoke with his dr on Monday and he ordered a Western blot Lyme test, which came back positive on Wednesday. Brought him to the hospital for a spinal tap, which came back positive for meningitis and the ELISA test was also positive for Lyme. He will be going home in a day or two with a 28 day course of IV antibiotics. We are thankful that the blurry vision showed up to have us question it further, and he should be fully healed after the 28 days have passed. He is already feeling better with the IVs they are giving him in the hospital.

Thank you all for your advice and well wishes--it's nice to finally have an answer and not have to keep wondering!!