Head banging in a different way

I’ve been hit in the head plenty of times in my life.

It was probably forty years ago during a summer baseball game that I stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and our team trailing by three runs. I smoked one over the head of the left fielder. Understand, I had a bit of speed back then, and I raced around the bases. As I headed to third, knowing that we had tied the game, the throw came in and went by the third baseman. I hopped up from my slide and scampered toward home.

As I approached the plate, the retrieved ball was hurled toward the catcher, but it was offline. He tried to catch the ball and swipe to tag me in one motion, but he didn’t have the ball. He did, however, smash his glove into my face. I blacked out for a couple of seconds; when I opened my eyes again, I was on top of home. We went on to hold them the next inning and win the game!

Did I get a concussion on that play? It would seem likely since I was briefly knocked out. But I don’t remember any headache or other side effects of a concussion.

In a varsity baseball game, I was standing on the top step of the dugout. (This was back when dugouts were actually down in the ground!) A sharp foul ball liner hit me on the right side of my head, just to the side of my forehead. I staggered back a bit but was fine. My coach checked on me, but there were no worries. 

Did I get a concussion from that blow? Possibly, but again, I don’t recall any lasting effects.

I’ve been hit in the head many more times over the years, most of them from playing, coaching, or officiating sports. Just step into a gym during the first week of baseball practice. Good luck NOT being hit by baseballs with junior high kids. I should have worn a batting helmet at all times.

Despite all that head trauma, I never had a diagnosed concussion until June. And it was just dumb how I got it, not some heroic sports effort. 

I was emptying the sink stopper into the garbage and accidentally dropped it in the trash. My (dead) cat-like reflexes had me dive to grab it and found my forehead encountering the shelf above our garbage can. It was abrupt and hard, and I staggered back. 

It’s hard to describe how I felt in that moment. Displaced maybe? Anyone who has had a concussion knows what I’m talking about. Regardless, after Michelle checked on me, I said I would be okay. I thought it was just a passing feeling.

The next morning proved that to be an incorrect assessment. I had a pounding headache all day, something that no pain reliever could cut into. 

So I self-diagnosed with a concussion. A couple weeks later, I had a scheduled check-up with my doctor. I told him about it and said I figured I didn’t need to come in to have a medical professional tell me what I already knew. Since there were no severe symptoms, I felt comfortable just treating it at home.

Concussions are funny things. Not ha-ha funny, but in the way that they don’t always follow strict rules for how they progress. I knew that many concussions resolve themselves in a week or less. Once it went past that, I really tried to find more ways to help my brain heal. I had really restricted my screen time. I would check my email periodically, look on social media for only short times, and read the Star-Tribune online, but all spaced apart.

I even stopped watching “Better Call Saul,” my annual summer binge of a show I’ve never watched before. The mere thought of looking at a screen for more than 15 minutes was almost as, though not quite as painful as when I did stare at those devices.

I got a lot more reading done of actual physical books. That didn’t seem to bother my brain. I also spent a lot more time outside. I worked on ballfields and went for walks, listening to podcasts and audiobooks. So there were positive outcomes to my difficulties.

I have noticed a little more difficulty in finding the words I seek to say or write since my accident. Michelle assures me it’s just associated with aging and that I’m noticing it more since my head injury. I want to believe her.

I’ve done training in concussion assessment, which is something all youth sports coaches and officials should do. I’ve pulled kids off a playing field to get checked and suggested having someone more qualified do a check. Part of that discussion is always about keeping an eye on changing symptoms. I now know more about that firsthand.

I’ll also be able to understand even better when I have a student who has hit their head and how to have them deal with the ubiquitous screens we use at school. I can really empathize with how that feels and will try to figure out some workarounds.

I wish my concussion story was something epic, but it’s not. I have learned a lot in the process, but I also know that I am more susceptible to future head injuries. Maybe all those blows to the head over the years finally did me in. 

And I am much more careful around the garbage can now.

Word of the Week: This week’s word is vuln, which means to wound, as in, “He was careful not to vuln himself again after the accident.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!