this post was submitted on 20 Nov 2024
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It is not one step before death. Holy shit are you being dramatic.
I had a TBI as a result of a double impact - minor concussion where I didn’t pass out skateboarding (and didn’t know it), then the next day friendly fire collision with a friend in the park snowboarding. I was knocked out for five minutes, had an out of body experience, came to very aggressively with a permanent change of personality that persists to this day half a lifetime later. That being said I was nowhere near death, had a I been knocked out into a coma things would be different.
TBIs are nothing to mess with, they change you for life. ADHD like symptoms, mental health struggles, aggression and explosive anger, memory loss, gaslighting from medical professionals about the severity of the injury (the 2000s were rough…) and opening yourself up to abuse by future significant others because you don’t trust your own memory. Never mind the struggle to maintain employment or how TBIs are invisible disabilities that are tough to get workplace accommodations for.
TBIs are serious, even when they are ‘mild’ (a complete misnomer). But being knocked out ≠ being knocked into a coma which is one step from death. Nor does it mean you’re having a brain bleed. Your brain is inflamed and it’s key not to impact it again for a ~month while the inflammation recedes. Because I had a double impact I ended up permanently damaged. I worry about CTE and dementia later in life as I’ve had other hits to the head since, including getting knocked out momentarily while riding for work.
FYI in case anyone asks - yes I wear a helmet and was wearing one the day of my TBI. Helmets don’t prevent concussions at all, they prevent skull fractures, punctures and lacerations. The helmet saved my life because it prevented skull fracture but more importantly laceration, as my friend collided into my head with the edge of her board first.
I agree it's not one step before death, but as you elaborated, what it effectively is, is brain damage, which is always something that needs to be taken seriously. I.e. if someone is knocked-out, it's not something that can be ignored as in "ha ha, they'll be ok in a couple of minutes"
Most of the time minor concussions that involving being knocked out for a couple minutes or less usually don’t result in lasting brain damage although there is a risk. It’s the double impact - getting hit while the brain is inflamed from the first impact - that leads to the serious problems involving brain damage that I’ve experienced.
A kid getting knocked out for a few moments in a soccer game and then taken out of sports for a couple weeks is gonna see their grades drop in school for a month or so and have recurring headaches and mild memory and focus issues but they won’t be lasting and within a month the effects go away and are not life long. Now if they don’t get pulled out of the game and keep playing and sustain another hard hit they’re in trouble.
That’s what you’re seeing with the pro footballers and boxers and CTE when they hit their late 30s and 40s.
Yes, which is why any such injury must be taken seriously (and most medics do so), which is my point.
My point is the severity of head injuries ranges from get an ice pack, Tylenol and some rest to get a helicopter this person isn’t gonna make it much longer. And then everything in between. The initial comment of one step from death! is dramatic as hell which is why I made the comments I made from experience.
Most concussions are minor with no lasting effects.
And my point is that you don't know how dangerous a concussion is going to be without monitoring which is why every concussion needs to be taken seriously!