Concussion

Concussion

Ouch!

On Friday while I was going to pick up Lauren, I slipped on the ice and fell in the Kinder Care parking lot, and evidently whacked my head pretty good. Next thing I knew Lauren was outside the car shouting for me to get up, and was I okay, and another parent had stopped to see if I was okay. I got up slowly, felt passable, and then threw up.

I made a bad decision at that point, roads were icy, but I was just hurting, no other symptoms, and I decided to drive the 1.5 miles home. About a block from the house I started to feel a little dizzy, and was anxious to get into the driveway. Upon getting out of the car and standing up, I finally understood exactly how bad I was feeling, I was dizzy, disoriented, and had no balance. Lauren and I went inside, and I went to change out of my soaking wet clothes, and got dizzy, and went down again. Lauren freaked out, and this time I knew what was going on, I just could not move.

With Linda just leaving work, I knew I was not in a good place, and my first thought was to wait until she got home to do something, but my head was in agony. I ended up calling Kozy since he is a couple of minutes away, and I gotta give him credit, he was out the door in seconds and at my house in minutes. He was able to get Lauren calmed down, and after looking at me, hearing me slurring words, disoriented, and pupils out of whack, he called 911 right away. I admit, I was pissed that he did it, but what are friends for? I was in no condition to make that decision for myself.

Kozy (This is more fun)

Ambulance showed up, and off to the hospital I went. Kozy was at home with Lauren, and Linda got there, got a few things together, and relived Kozy. I know he would have stayed with Lauren, but I hated for him to miss his "date" night with Tracy, and not go out to a movie. Strange the junk you are worried about when you are on the way to the hospital.

Anyhow, got to the hospital, and what turned about to be an hour and a half wait in the waiting room, you know, with a head injury. Terry showed up there to keep me company until Linda and Lauren got there, and seeing a friendly face really helped. Linda and Lauren got there about the time they were pulling me off to triage, and he took Lauren off to his house so she could spend the night with his family. That was probably the one thing that finally made me relax, and start to worry about how I was feeling, knowing that my family was okay, and taken care of, made a difference.

Terry (see, this is more fun....)

 Is it a surprise I was a pain in the ass patient? First question they asked me is where I hurt, and I am trying to focus on the nurse, and I respond with "Uhhhh, the ice on my head, doesn't give it away? How about my head hurts?" I was pretty apologetic after that, should it have been a good sign that if I'm a jerk then my head could not possibly have been that bad?

Long story short, spent another 4 hours up there before I could talk them into releasing me, I refused the morphine they wanted to give me to break the pain and headache, and I had a phone call from Terry (evidently Linda had texted my refusal to him) that I was an idiot if I did not take the pill, and that it really would help me. I cut a deal with the doctor, that I'd take any pain medication less than a narcotic, and if the pain did not break, then as a last resort I'd do what they wanted. CAT scan came back normal (Personally I think that should have set off all sorts of alarms, me normal? Really?) It made for a long night, and I was happy to finally get home.

So, closing in on 48 hours after the fall, and I still don't feel right, my head hurts about a 5 on their 1-10 scale of pain. I can't break the headache, I'm able to focus now when I move my head, better than before, if I try to move too quick I get a little dizzy. According to the release papers, I could have these symptoms for a few days for up to a few months. I'll be setting up a doctor's appointment as soon as possible.

How on earth does this have anything to do with shooting? Well, I got my ticket for the match on Wednesday, and I'll only shoot it if the doctor says it is okay. I'm not taking any risks with my health and life, or with anyone else. I miss my dry fire routine this weekend, and I missed my class on Saturday with Dave and Les. Gotta get rolling, and I really did not need this setback.

I've had my "bell rung" before when I played football, but what happened on Friday, and how I feel today is a whole new ballgame to me. More than anything right now, I feel bad that it happened around Lauren, and that she had to see me like that. I know it scared her, and she is treating me now like I'm made of glass. I hate that, I'm dad, the guy you run at full speed and jump up at for a hug, the person who will carry you, tickle you, and so on. Words don't do justice to thanking Terry and Kozy though, so I won't even try in this blog, I've said it. Pretty great community of people here, and I'm lucky to have met 'em all.

At Area 5 Summer 2013