did you help a girl who hit her head at the bird yesterday?

edited once more..... So heres what happened- Monday at snowbird I was playing around on the windlip 'wave' off of littlecloud, threw a few smaller stuff it seemed perfect for somethin bigger. I dont know what I did other than planned on a 7, probably corked. An hour later I 'came to' on the snowbird bus in the parkinglot and I couldnt figure out what was going on. I remember small moments here and there like laying there in the snow thinking 'whooo I hit my head pretty hard' then talking to some people who were watching me and telling them I think I had a concussion, then asking some other people what day it was... I was so confused. I was in sort of a happy go lucky-wandering around in a confused daze kind of state. So I get off the snowbird bus and someone I knew helped me out, rode the bus up to alta where we found my car. I didnt know if I was safe to drive home, I felt okay minus the pounding in my head so I called a few people and chilled for a little bit, then made my way home. And no, I didnt go to the hospital or anything like that, but I talked to one, like you guys- he told me it would be smart to go in and get checked out for real- and if it gets worse or isnt feeling better than thats a must, and when I go to sleep, not to sleep for longer than about 2 hours at a time- so I had my mom wake me up all night. I cant go to the hospital or get it checked out unless I absolutely dont have a choice, for various reasons that im not going into. 2 days later it feels a lot better im just super sore, I remember more I am just missing a little bit after the hit and its just super blurry for that little while afterwords.



ANYWAY, thats my story... and if I ran into you let me know. Oh, and wear a helmet when charging like that- I learned my lesson. I know, I know- yell at me all you want for not wearing a helmet.. my old ones all dented and has a small crack in it- I ordered a new one yesterday.

See a doctor. Now.

Hit my head on a tree once OB at Keystone....round 3:30....dazed and confused for a good minute or two just laying there...shook it off and vowed to buy a helmet that night......havent skied w/o one since...


i would never try a cork seven without a helmet......please wear one, we dont want to lose anyone!

See a doctor. Now. +1

yes, i just assumed you saw a doc...


i mean seriously....GO TO A FUCKING DOCTOR....


you could have a scull fracture for all you know...

scull fractures are so core.

just kidding. go to the doctor.

I'm with cj100f, see a Dr now- and after anytime you lose consciousness!
you want to make sure your egg is ok----brain swelling and a host of other bad things are not always immediately obvious.

As a former football player who's had a several good friends get bad concussions like yours, I have to repeat this...

GO SEE A DOCTOR!!!!!

Forgetting any amount of time, much less 1-2 hours, is a very serious thing. In fact you need to be REALLY CAREFUL right now. Don't think you're fine and go out riding tomorrow. You're more susceptible to additional concussions right now; more so than normal. And there's a host of other more serious complications that could arise. Got get checked out. Don't screw around.

woah woah woah... seen the doctor- its okay just have to be careful

Sorry, it's just that most people don't take that very important next step. Good to hear you got checked out. I've had some mild ones and they've scared the shit out of me. I usually feel fucked up for several hours afterwords. I couldn't even imagine getting a bad one.

SKETCHY.

.....

Mine happened at Whistler. I was snowboarding by myself.

Apparantly (I don't remember, but ski patrol surmised from the ski marks across my face), a skier jumped from an elevated position onto a groomed run. Or more specifically, onto and across my face. And left me there. I spent the day in the Whistler ER (props to the Whistler ER and their warm blankets fresh from the heating ovem).

That was 4 years ago, and to this day, I can only remember five or six 15-60 second snippets from that day and the following 2 days. I remember ski patrol waking me up with smelling sauce, asking me my name (got that one right), asking me where I was ("I'm at Whistler. Hey, what's Whistler?"). At that point, ski patrol started moving really fast to get me to the ER. I blacked out again, but remember approx 5-10 seconds of my head bouncing against the snow as they dragged me down the hill on the sled (I don't remember the sled, just my head), blacked out again, then I remember a flash of being unloaded from the ambulance, and blacked out again.

Then I remember about a 60 second conversation with a nurse "Where am I?" "You are in the Whistler ER [and an explanation why, except I don't remember that part]." "Oh, what time is it and when can I leave? I want to snowboard more today." "I don't think you will be able to do that." "What about tomorrow? Can I get back on the hill tomorrow?" "What? No, I don't think so." "Why not, I want to snowboard tomorrow and the next day. The doctor will let me do that, right?" "Arrggg!! [nurse goes away and returns with a mirror.] LOOK! Look at your face! You can't go snowboarding for awhile!" "[me, looking in mirror] What if the swelling in my eye goes down enough to where I can open it? I can go snowboarding then, right?" I'm sure there was somw swearing by the nurse at that point, but I guess I blacked out again.

After that, the only things I can remember with any clarity are the hotel clerk asking to take my picture because my face "was the worst thing [he'd] ever seen, eh?" (cool dude, he refunded my non-refundable room costs because I had to leave early.) Then I remember my friend picking me up the next day and screaming when she saw my face (later, she told me she tought I looked like the elephant man.) Then I recall a flash of trying to declare a banana when crossing back over the border (something along the lines of "No wait! I need to declare this banana! But its okay, because I brought it with me when I came into Canada!") My friend tells me that we talked all the way back to Seattle (~5 hours), but the border crossing is all I remember. The next 2 days were like that also - no memory.

So, to answer your question, you have a Grade III concussion and you will likely get a few memories back, but not all of them. And yes, it is completely freaky to have a part of your life just missing. But the freakiness fades after awhile.

One interesting side effect (endorphines?) is that I was completely content for the next 2 weeks. My friends tell me that I went to work and just stared into space all day, and went home. But I clerly remember being absolutely content (not happy, just perfectly content.) I also remember the very second it stopped. (Oh fawk!!! I'm 2 weeks behind on my work!)

By the way, I don't believe that you went to the doctor. Prove it. Post exactly what the doctor's instructions were for the night after the concussion. There is something very specific that must happen following a Grade III concussion.

And if you haven't been to the doctor, go. It's really that important. Do it now.

i've never heard of a recently unconscious person, as the driver, being helped to their car. i hope no one let you doze off after that. i don't mean to play mommy but that sounds pretty sketchy. patrol usually takes you down and has someone stick with you with directions to either take to the hospital or to atleast keep the person awake.

any docs have beta on concussions with memory loss?

edit: edub put up some of what i was asking about.

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Originally Posted by AltaPowderDaze

i've never heard of a recently unconscious person, as the driver, being helped to their car. i hope no one let you doze off after that. i don't mean to play mommy but that sounds pretty sketchy. patrol usually takes you down and has someone stick with you with directions to either take to the hospital or to atleast keep the person awake.

any docs have beta on concussions with memory loss?

edit: edub put up some of what i was asking about.

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Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. What kind of friend would help you find your car and then leave you in it alone to recover from your concussion?

eDub....sounds like yours was pretty serious. I was snowboarding at Boyne in Michigan in the halfpipe one time. I was wearing a helmet, caught the toeside edge coming back into the pipe, and swung down and hit my head on the wall. I don't remember that or several minutes before that happened. Apparently I was out for several seconds in the pipe, and then rode back to the lodge, and sat in a daze for a half hour or more. Then I went to drive back to my grandparents house...but I couldn't remember which car I had brought (at the time I was driving my parents cars, and it was either a Blazer or a Honda). I spent a good half hour looking for the car, still not sure what I was looking for. When my sister finally came out to help and spotted it, I drove back to my grandparents (about 5 minutes away), ate a sandwich, and watched TV for an hour or so.

I still don't remember any of that, but I'm damn happy I was wearing a helmet. I don't even want to know where I'd be right now without it.

I've worn a helmet for 10+ years, and that's the only time it has come in handy. It is reason enough for me to keep the lid on, though.

I didn't get checked out, only because my dad is a paramedic, and said I didn't need too as long as I didn't get worse. I skipped school the next day with a horrible headache, and didn't have any problems after that.

Absolutely nothing can be hurt by getting checked out except your ego.

If you haven't yet, go do it. Minor head injuries can fuck with people for the rest of their lives.

head injuries arent a fickle matter (groundbreaking huh). my pops had me get a freakin cat scan after my concussion and following scatterbraindedness a few years ago.
not to darken the mood any further, but this happened where a couple miles from home where i played in high school. be safe.

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Originally Posted by fineline

edited long story short... I think I described it as worse than it was- Got a concussion yesterday at snowbird... dont know what I did other than planned on a 7, probably corked... dont remember a whole lot- think the person who I was skiing with might have been someone here... whatever nevermind-

in a nutshell... helmets are good things

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fineline-

Why did you edit and delete?

I think your post was an important one. You should put it back up.

If you edited because of the repeated "see a doctor" posts, I can tell you that mine was because "serious denial about your condition combined with enough lucidity to convince people you are fine" was a part of my concussion and it sounds like your concussion was similar to mine. I guess what I'm trying to say is that no one was criticizing you, just expressing concern. (By the way, the specific instruction a doctor should have given you is "have someone wake you up every 2 hours following a concussion because there can be a slow brain bleed which will begin to evidence itself by grogginess and difficulty waking up - something resemebling drunkiness.")

Besides, there still a chance that the person who helped you was a maggot and didn't get a chance to read the post before you edited.

Besides seeing a doctor, would a new helmet necessary, too? Seems to me if the helmet took that kind of shot, it would be toast.

i got hit by a 3/4 ton pickup while riding my bike a few years ago. i hit the ground (no helmet) my head snapped down and bounced off the pavement. I was unconscious for a minute or two then jumped up, grabbed my bike. I thought i was going to ride it, taco'd wheel, busted frame and all, up to school to take the math test i was heading to. all sorts of spectators yelling at me to lay down on the sidewalk as i complained about a sore neck. ambulance got there in about a minute. i was sure i was going to go take that test.

the ambulance driver told me they were going to take me to the hospital. i said the hell you are, i have a test in 15 minutes. the ambulance driver asked me if i knew there was blood coming out of my ear. i said in that case he better drive.

a few xrays and cat-scans later it turned out i had a basalar skull fracture.

head injuries suck, wear a helmet.

No, but I helped a girl hit herself in the head with a bird yesterday. It was a ruby-throated titwillow.

Seriously, though- see a dentist, ASAP.

see a doctor. then call me. girls throwing corked 7s = hot.

Ladies, watch out for this guy. I hear he's some sort of sexy dinosaur or something.

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Originally Posted by Alex P. Keaton

Ladies, watch out for this guy. I hear he's some sort of sexy dinosaur or something.

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No no no, he' like a T-rex in bed, he's been extinct for millions of years.

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Originally Posted by gonzo

girls throwing corked 7s = hot.

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I definitely second that. Just put on a helmet so that you can keep doing corked 7's.

And I dont' know if it was necessary, but after my little incident I went out and bought a new helmet. The old one didn't appear to be damaged other than a small dent, but I figured it was a good idea. I'm not an expert, though.

This is not a lecture to fineline, more of info for everyone, so don't take all of this personally, but do read it and take some of it to heart.

Head injuries are graded on loss of memory and loss of consiousness as well as a few other symptoms, but these 2 are thought to be some of the more important. Concussions that involve loss of consciousness of 5 min or less and/or involve memory loss of 15 min or more would be classified as a grade 2 concussion. Any time a person has lost consciousness they should be seen in the ER and will likely have a CAT scan to rule out intracranial bleeding.

As far as returning to activity. After a grade 1 head injut, No (LOC) and minor loss of memory is it typical to wait one week AFTER symptoms have cleared. This is the norm for contact/collision sports. For a grade 2 concussion this period is much longer as the symptoms themselves last longer.

During the time when you have symptoms of a head injury present you are MUCH more suseptable to receivieng a second head injury. A Second head injury during this time pre-disposes you to "Second Impact Syndrome". SIS is characterized by rapid swelling of the brain. Which in the majority for cases is either fatal or results in permenant brain damage. SIS can result from even a relatively mild impact, if that impact occurs during the time when you are still having concussion symptoms. Symptoms include, headache, dizziness, balance disturbances, blurred vision, restlessness, irritability, trouble sleeping, trouble concentrating.... and the list goes on. Now I am not saying this will absolutely happen to you but it could. SIS is a real thing and unfortunately does occur every year, primarily in collision sports like football and hockey.

So my advise to you would be to take it slow. I would hesitate charging back out on to the slopes helmet or not.

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Originally Posted by Vinman

Head injuries are graded on loss of memory and loss of consiousness as well as a few other symptoms, but these 2 are thought to be some of the more important. Concussions that involve loss of consciousness of 5 min or less and/or involve memory loss of 15 min or more would be classified as a grade 2 concussion. Any time a person has lost consciousness they should be seen in the ER and will likely have a CAT scan to rule out intracranial bleeding.

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After my first head injury, I had no loss of conciousness and no loss of memory. Skied down to the bottom of the resort & went to the hospital.

Seemed fine, I was just bleeding like a stuck pig, they almost did not do a cat scan on me before sewing it up, luckily they did, lifeflight to Junction, cranial fracture repaired, pressure relieved, titanium added.

A few weeks later in Aspen, a kid fell down the staris at a bar, he was woozy, went home & never woke up. cranial fracture but didna break the skin.
kids dead cuz noone thought he needed attention.

I had another head injury, with helmet a few months later. The 2 were hard to recover from, cognitively I was fine, but short tempered, easily overwhelmed, easily confused, mean. ( go ahead mags, take that softball deep into left field)
I didna know what to do & was pretty depressed ( plus weeks of painkillers, booze, weed + no skiing during the end of an epic season brings ya low)
My friend ( who many mags know; actually) gave me a book that really helped her mom recover from a hit and run accident in A -town.
It's called Brainlash and I would recomend it to anyone who has had any type of TBI ( traumatic brain injury) I have given it out to a few people & it helped them as much as me.
Knowing there is a reason for your symptoms and how to deal with them is huge.

Bottom line, wear a helmet & do not laugh off any head ringer, it can be dehabilitating and/or fatal.

has anyone ever lost their sense of smell following a head injury? For several years following mine i could smell nothing. Even now my sense of smell is altered but has mostly returned.

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Originally Posted by fez

has anyone ever lost their sense of smell following a head injury? For several years following mine i could smell nothing. Even now my sense of smell is altered but has mostly returned.

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I have a friend who lost hers permanently. She has to be very careful with food in her fridge - she can't smell if it's bad.

There was an article about that in the NY Times magazine a couple weeks ago. Lady finally got hers back following a program of smelling really strong odors like ammonia, etc.

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Originally Posted by fez

has anyone ever lost their sense of smell following a head injury? For several years following mine i could smell nothing. Even now my sense of smell is altered but has mostly returned.

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Olfactory nerve. It is one of the cranial nerves. I have not seen anyone with this symptom but obviously does occur.

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Originally Posted by fez

has anyone ever lost their sense of smell following a head injury? For several years following mine i could smell nothing. Even now my sense of smell is altered but has mostly returned.

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Happened to my uncle- he fell 40 feet flat onto his back and was totally fine, except that he lost his sense of smell. He says he can remember how things taste, though, so he doesn't really miss it.

Frum al f dez psts I ges I shud be mesd up cuz of fuzball. But me smel fin ad mi brain wurk gud.

Nurse Ratchet here with my $.02.

After working at the nearby trauma center, I saw head injuries of all types. From minor concussions to shearing injuries of the brainstem. Subdural hematomas, epidural hematomas, skull fractures, you name it. No matter how insignificant you think your bonk on the head is/was, get a freaking head CT! You can be alert and oriented one minute and completely f'd the next. I dunno why people are so lackadaisical about their brains? :mad:

Head injuries can fuck you up for life. I saw so many young folks who will NEVER have their lives/brains back just because of carelessness - ie: no helmets, being stupid/overly aggressive, using drugs & alcohol while doing sports/driving/motorcycling. Breaks my heart. :(

The good news is most ER physicians will order head CT's even if there are NO symptoms of a head injury because not all patients become symptomatic right away. Plus, you don't have to have a loss of consciousness to get a head CT. If you've hit your head, that's your ticket.

As far as the olfactory nerve goes - a friend of mine had a brain tumor when he was younger. Had surgery, they removed the tumor and most recently he suddenly passed out while urinating (the docs think the process of bearing down to pee caused him to vasovagal). He hit his head so hard and pinched his nerve that he can't taste or smell. That was 2 years ago. Freaky!

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Originally Posted by eDub

One interesting side effect (endorphines?) is that I was completely content for the next 2 weeks. My friends tell me that I went to work and just stared into space all day, and went home. But I clerly remember being absolutely content (not happy, just perfectly content.) I also remember the very second it stopped. (Oh fawk!!! I'm 2 weeks behind on my work!)

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Wow, I want a type II concussion!

"But is there any way that you, you could just sock me out so there’s no way that I’ll know I’m at work? Right here? (points to his head) Can I just come home and think I’ve been fishing all day or something?"

Losing the sense of smell with brain injury is kind of common. It turns out the the inferior portion of your frontal lobes (which are directly up against your skull) are commonly injured in brain trauma. This area carries the nerve fibers that allow you to smell.

When i was working at a level 1 trauma center in Denver, one of the neurologists was studying this phenomenom and he therefore ordered MRI's (after the initial CT Scan) on most trauma patients to see if they had contused this part of their brain.

Scary thing about doing MRI's on so many trauma patients was that as a radiologist you began to realize how much of the brain damage that is actually present CAN NOT be seen on a CAT scan. However, when I had a Grade 1 concussion I got a CT not an MRI.

As LAN pointed out the ER will get a CT scan on essentially every head injury case and during a busy weekend day in ski season (especially when it is ICY), i will read many many of those CT's. Luckily the vast majority are normal.

Helmets are definitely key and the may not save your life, but they may save you a trip to the ER.

BTW, to clear up some confusion in earlier posts, a simple skull fracture is not, in and of itself, a serious injury. The exceptions are a basiliar skull fracture, a depressed fracture and an open fracture. The CT is done to find blood in or around the brain.

Fineline, be smart, you had a serious head injury, take it easy and don't put yourself at risk for a second injury and possible long term damage.

BTW, from a medical standpoint, girls who throw corked 7's = Damn HOT!! :D

Two major concusions for this noggin:

A) High school football, returning kickoff, try to block guy who's got a good 50+ lbs. on me and one heck of a running start. (I was small for my position) I get levelled, one of those great high-light reel clips. Of course the colors in my vision separate like those old tv's, (green to the left, red to the right, blue in the middle, etc) and then slowly blur back together. I get to spend the rest of the game wondering why they won't let me play despite the fact that I thought I answered all the questions right.

On the bus ride back home (it was an away game) I get this really weird feeling that the left half of my body is going numb. I can move it, but I can't feel it. What really freaks me out is that half of my face and tounge are also numb. I go to the hospital after that, they check me out with a CT and everything seems fine. A week off of hitting in football for me.

2) Couple years later Skiing one day without my helmet as it was stolen a week before, go off a jump in a terrain park, come down nice and vertical or so I'm told. I only remeber putting the skis on the car in the morning (not the 2 hours driving to the resort) and next thing I know its about 3pm in hte afternoon. Apparently I had been skiing all day. I was with a friend, and they managed to keep telling me what day it was, (I thought it was an actual month later than it was) and even wrote a note for me to look at when I started asking him questions again. We didn't really stop skiing for too long, cause I remember becomming concious on a ski lift. I was able to do things, just a little woozy and confused because I could not remember short term. By the time we left the resort at 5pm, I was pretty back with it. I drove home, since my buddy had his license revoked two days earlier for rolling his car a couple times. I think I didn't hit my head until the afternoon, but its interesting how all the previous events I don't remember. Didn't have no cat scan for this one.

a couple years later, said buddy crashed his car into a bridge one night just driving home from work and passed away. He had been accidentally run over by a tractor (driven by his dad) when young and would rarely black out cause of the head trauma. We think that caused him to crash. So this stuff is important.


I have had a couple of minor ones too, but always ski with a helmet now. And as an engineer and a skier: All the helmets that are out there prevent injury by deforming upon impact. If you have a major crash where you hit your head, you should replace your helmet

I think I have a little trouble focusing sometimes now, but I'm not sure if that's due to the head trauma or the drinking.

i overshot a landing at the 'loaf, impacted facing uphill, downhill edge of my board hit and i slammed hard. shattered my right forearm (radius) and split the back of my helmet. tried to pop up and ride it off - shook my head and said "holy shit" but i heard myself say "blub bla blub." then i sat down. realized my arm hurt. it was crooked. helmet = good. 7s = hot.

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Originally Posted by LAN

I saw so many young folks who will NEVER have their lives/brains back just because of carelessness - ie: no helmets, Breaks my heart.

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I think after this thread and about 20-30 people telling me to ski with a helmet....I might now maybe actually consider it. Damn it.

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Originally Posted by EstoBum

All the helmets that are out there prevent injury by deforming upon impact. If you have a major crash where you hit your head, you should replace your helmet[/b]

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or by helping the blow glance off. but that is only if you're lucky. the rest of the time you get a deformed helmet and/or head.