Suzie,
I'm up to 8 concussions now (last one knocked me out and required a brain scan).... I'm accident prone. The long-term side-effects are obvious to my friends and family. Time is all that has seemed to help.... just be careful and do everything you can to prevent anymore. Some of the things I've noticed are ringing in my ear, headaches, blurred vision on occasion, and loss of short term memory. I often leave myself notes (post-it's) if something is important to remember, or ask family, friends, and co-workers to remind me about something that I need to do. I also overcompensate at work by taking copious notes when something is important. One of my co-workers has had 7 concussions and also has the ringing in the ears, migraine headaches, and short-term memory issues. You just learn to cope with the side-effects and do all that you can to prevent future injuries. Good luck. Somehow I think you may have already taken the first step..... buy the helmet with the ear/ face protection. Don't let the concussion prevent you from doing the things you love to do, just build safety and prevention into your planning next time. Never stop kayaking because of the experience. If you do, then you allow the injury/ experience to traumatize you. Good luck and get back on the water when you can, you'll be glad you did, create more great memories and we well equipped.
-M
I'm up to 8 concussions now (last one knocked me out and required a brain scan).... I'm accident prone. The long-term side-effects are obvious to my friends and family. Time is all that has seemed to help.... just be careful and do everything you can to prevent anymore. Some of the things I've noticed are ringing in my ear, headaches, blurred vision on occasion, and loss of short term memory. I often leave myself notes (post-it's) if something is important to remember, or ask family, friends, and co-workers to remind me about something that I need to do. I also overcompensate at work by taking copious notes when something is important. One of my co-workers has had 7 concussions and also has the ringing in the ears, migraine headaches, and short-term memory issues. You just learn to cope with the side-effects and do all that you can to prevent future injuries. Good luck. Somehow I think you may have already taken the first step..... buy the helmet with the ear/ face protection. Don't let the concussion prevent you from doing the things you love to do, just build safety and prevention into your planning next time. Never stop kayaking because of the experience. If you do, then you allow the injury/ experience to traumatize you. Good luck and get back on the water when you can, you'll be glad you did, create more great memories and we well equipped.
-M
