Some of you know that two years ago my daughter Brooke suffered a serious concussion at the age of 14. She was plagued by ongoing headaches, vertigo, light sensitivity and memory problems for months after her impact. Those months turned into a year. Brooke worked hard to heal her body naturally. She traveled to Atlanta, GA for holistic brain re-hab. She stayed well-adjusted and ate extra-clean. She also saw a Naturopathic Doctor for vitamin IV therapy and hyperbaric oxygen treatments. As part of a specialist’s visit with a medical doctor Brooke was offered four prescription medications for her symptoms, but she refused them. Brooke realized that taking a chemical drug wasn’t an answer, it would only cover up the symptoms and maybe even delay her healing.
Brooke persevered with natural treatments to help her brain heal over the past two years. She feels and functions so much better than she used to. But still at times she can suffer from headaches and light sensitivity when her brain is over-worked mentally, jolted by a sudden stop in the car or if she physically exercises too hard. She also continues to works harder at school, struggling to memorize facts, formulas and Spanish vocabulary.
Concussions have come to the forefront with the recent NFL concussion scandal and the high profile movie “Concussion” starring Will Smith. Mild traumatic brain injury can happen to anyone, at any age, but the risk is even more real for young athletes. If you have a child playing sport, please make a commitment to get baseline testing done yearly, at the beginning of each season. Talk with your child about what the signs of a concussion are and the importance of letting both you and their coach know. And please, take any concussion seriously.
We invite you out to become even better informed. On Wednesday night, May 25th from 6:30-8pm Brooke is hosting a FREE movie night at the Hooksett Public Library. The library will be showing the concussion documentary “Head Games.” Please consider joining us for the movie and a brief Q&A following the film.