Elizabeth Salazar
The Paw Print
Everyone loves doing their favorite activity. Whether it is lacrosse, rodeo, baseball, or even just going for a jog, but there are injuries that can occur. Most injuries have to deal with a broken bone or a torn ligament, which are awful, but people often forget about the injuries to the brain.
It is not uncommon to turn on the television and hear a story about an athlete that has received a concussion and must sit out the game. But what is a concussion? A concussion usually occurs when there is a hard hit to the head. The results of a concussion are usually temporary and involve headaches, dizziness, loss of memory, and problems with concentration. A concussion usually requires a week or two off of strenuous activity and some time to relax and let the brain recover depending on the severity. Overall it is not a life threatening injury.
But what happens if someone hit their head harder than average? Or if they hit their head again after the first concussion? Then the concussion becomes a completely different animal.
If any of these things were to happen the injury would no longer be considered just a concussion. It would be a traumatic brain injury (TBI). A TBI is not something that heals in two weeks like a concussion. A brain injury can take anywhere from three months to a year to heal depending on the severity of the injury, and in some cases it can lead to death.
A brain injury is not something to be overlooked. If the person that is affected is located in an area that does not handle brain bleeding that person then would have to be flown out. The local hospitals, for example, do not have the supplies to handle a severe brain injury so they must be flown out to an area that does. The price of a flight for life can range anywhere from $50,000 to $75,000.
The price of the flight is not the only thing that affects a person with a brain injury. The person who is affected will not be fully conscious. They will be awake and able to answer questions but there is no guarantee that what they are saying is correct. Most TBI survivors cannot remember anything about the event or events afterward.
A brain injury yields many road blocks on the way to recovery. The first three months involve lots of sleep, memory loss, loss of concentration, and speech impediment but more road blocks will occur. Impulse buying and emotional flairs are another big issue. TBI survivors have been known to go out and buy a car on a whim and come home and realize what they have done. The emotional flairs can be caused by something as simple as having to choose an item at a restaurant. All of the options can cause the TBI survivor to have an anxiety attack or uncontrollable crying.
The most important thing to remember with a traumatic brain injury survivor is not to point out the issues that they are having. TBI survivors are fully aware of what is wrong but they are doing their best to stay in control of these problems.
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