Police Report
January 3rd, 2010
think again...
Sunday, January 3, 2010 - At 16:44 hrs (4:44 pm), St. 5 Ambulance was dispatched to South Bound Rt. 202 just north of the Rt. 30 Bypass for a reported accident. Within moments of dispatch, Ambulance 5-2 hit the streets. Supplemental 9-1-1 callers indicated that one individual in the car was unresponsive. With this new information, dispatchers upgraded the nature of the call to a Serious Accident, which alerted St. 5 Fire/Rescue personal, as well as Medic 4 (Malvern). Lt. 5 (A. Fincuane) and Deputy 5 (J. Brown) arrived on scene and confirmed one vehicle into the median with injuries. Deputy 5 requested a helicopter on standby due to the severity of the injuries. The crew of Engine 5-2 assisted with patient care and mitigating hazards and debris. Traffic 5 diverted traffic around the scene to keep emergency personnel safe.

All units were taken up and available by 17:20 hrs (5:20 pm).
Before January 3rd 2010, I had no idea how substantial a concussion could be or how greatly it could affect my life. I had heard a little about concussions but I had no idea of how my life would change after suffering this injury. Just one mistake, a bump of the head, a rough jostle, or even a slip can change your life instantly. This is the story of my struggle.
I was 15 years old at the time, and I was the front seat passenger in a car driven by a friend. He had been driving for over a year and I had been a passenger with him many times. This trip was nothing new. The music was playing and we were laughing. There were other cars on the road but there was nothing to suggest that trouble was just around the corner – literally.
As we were driving along a 4 lane divided highway, another driver “challenged” us. He wanted to race. We sped up a bit and maneuvered through the other cars. I know – bad idea. Suddenly the car that challenged us came speeding up in the passing lane. As the car passed it struck the front of our car, causing our car to lose control. We fishtailed across three lanes of the highway and couldn’t regain control. I was screaming. I had no control over what was happening to me. It was incredibly scary. We slid off the road and then into the end of a solid metal guardrail.
60 mph + guardrail = hospital. I blacked out in the car and don’t remember how I got out. A man who stopped to help called 911. I was in shock and I had no idea what was going on. I walked around in a daze. The paramedics told me I had to come in the ambulance just as a standard procedure, but since I had no visible injuries I did not get much attention, unlike my friends who were put on backboards and cared for with great urgency. I was offered a seat on the bench in the ambulance for a ride to the hospital.
No one even thought that I might have had a head injury. I should have been put on a backboard in a neck brace to reduce movement of my head and to prevent further injury. In the ambulance I was shaking and terrified. I called my parents and told them to come to the hospital. I barely remember this. I had a massive headache and couldn’t think straight. 
When we got to the hospital I was sent to the waiting room. When my parents arrived they took one look at me and had me checked into the hospital to be examined. It was clear to them that I wasn’t ok.
After being checked by the ER staff, I was cleared to go home. I had a sprained shoulder, headache, cuts on my hand, bruised shins, bruised right arm, and whiplash. Once I got home I got ready for bed and went to sleep. The next day was full of stiffness, pain, confusion and fear.
I returned to school two days after the accident knowing that I would be very sore and had already informed the school about the accident. People were very gentle with me and were supportive. I was taking Advil every 4-6 hours to keep the pain under control but the headaches I had were still intense. My mom called the pediatrician who said I probably had a concussion but I should just wait it out, and that I would probably be fine. 
I was having a very difficult time focusing at school, and I wasn’t able to remember anything without trying very hard. After a few more days of this, with continuous headaches, my mom called the pediatrician again. She was not going to wait any longer. She knew something wasn’t right and she was not going to stop until we had a solution. She was a terrific advocate for me in a system that really didn’t know what to do for me. This time the pediatrician told her to take me back to the ER, where they took an MRI and consulted a neurologist. By giving me the impact test, he confirmed that I had received a severe concussion. My cognitive scores were at about an 8 out of 100. No wonder I wasn’t feeling right.
Immediately all sports activity came to a stop. My screen time was taken to zero. My brain needed to rest. Was this easy? Since I am a competitive horseback rider who rides everyday not just to excel at the sport, but also to relax and clear my mind after a rough school day, it was a real blow to me. Giving up my sport just because I was in the wrong car at the wrong time was awful!
As time went on and I really felt the pain of my concussion, I began to realize how severe it was. I couldn’t make it through a whole day of school without exhausting myself. The simplest math problem felt impossible. I couldn’t achieve the good grades that I once had. I couldn’t remember anything at all, and I couldn’t ride my horse. Instead of horseback riding, my new afternoon activity was physical, occupational, cognitive, vision, and speech therapies at a rehabilitation hospital.
One of the biggest challenges I faced was trying to make those around me understand. My brain wasn’t working, but I looked like I was absolutely fine. My grades were suffering, but no one understood the reason. They began to doubt me.
There were those who even questioned my academic aspirations. I began to discuss my goals to be accepted at a top college in a few years, and I named a few of my top schools – each one highly competitive and selective. Some at my school responded by telling me that I was aiming too high and I was unlikely to achieve my objective, so I should set my sights lower. I was a sophomore at the time and that really took away all of my enthusiasm and hope. I was hearing that I needed to work harder and do better in school because my teachers were starting to lose faith in me. Unfortunately I couldn’t just erase the fact that I didn’t have my full brain capacity and still needed help. They didn’t understand how difficult a concussion really is and that I was doing the best I could.
As time went on even my friends became frustrated with me. They began to think that it was impossible for me to still have a concussion, and that I was just using it as an excuse. My classmates thought it was unfair that I got extended time on tests and homework and started to resent me. I tried to tell them that I would rather not have any special treatment and to just be able to get my work done, but they didn’t understand. They said that I was self-centered and lazy. They felt like I was not telling the truth. They thought I was fine, and that I was taking advantage of the situation. When I heard this I was very upset. I felt like I was losing the people closest to me but I couldn’t do anything about it. My concussion was tearing me apart.
This was the hardest period of my life that I have had to go through. More than 6 months of therapy, losing good friends, no horseback riding, a brain that didn’t work right. On top of all this, I was frightened every time I even sat in a car. 
After several months, I passed a follow-up test and I was cleared to begin to horseback ride again. Getting back on my horse was the best feeling. I felt like all of the bad times were finally ending. I was able to get back to my life again. Then after 10 months, I had final follow-up tests to check on my brain function and my doctor said that I didn’t have a concussion anymore. I was cognitively healed!
More than two years later I have a lot of success to report. Although I’m still a very nervous passenger, I enjoy driving (and I’m a very cautious driver). Once my brain healed fully from the concussion, I worked incredibly hard and achieved academic distinction (honor roll) at school. I’m energetic, productive, and really enjoying the last months of my high school career.

And by the way, next fall I’ll be attending my first choice college.
ConcussionLink
think again...