How many concussions have you suffered?

[skategoat]

My dumbest concussion was on a water slide in Quebec. They didn't give you mats and I found that if I cupped my shoulders just right, I could create a cushion of water underneath me that would make me really fly. So I just booked it on one run. I have no idea what happened but apparently, I flew out of the slide on a corner and came down on the edge of the slide, slamming the back of my head on the lip. Hit the pool at the bottom and i remember feeling very dreamy, like I was back in the womb. Lifeguard pulled me out.

Anyways, I guess it's comforting to know that I won't be alone in the drool ward in 30 years.

[egibbons]

Skategoat: I don't know about hidden problems in the future. So far, I have yet to see anything. I never even had a headache after the initial healing where my doctors told me I would have serious migraines for the rest of my life. I guess I'll have to wait and see. They told me that after 4 years after, I would be more or less fixed with my the recovery I had.

[eajracing]

As further evidence of the stupidity concussions induce... i've been thinking about this for a few days now and hope i can put the feeling into coherent sentences...

Many riders (a younger myself included) treat broken bones, concussions etc as badges of honour, further evidence of the 'if you dont fall, youre not trying hard enough' or 'if you dont cross it, you'll never know where the line is' (A. Senna's comments on touching it, then stepping over it being exempt).

I cannot stress enough how bad multiple concussions are.

My first concussion had me wearing a neck brace around school for a week or so. I thought it was cool. Soooo many chicks asked me what happened and they never acknowledged my existence before that.

My third was a monster. I was told it went like this: I got down to the bottom later the the rest of the guys. Caught an edge landing a switch 180 waaaaaay to fast, bounced off the snow, bounced off chair tower #6, off the snow again etc. My goggles were broken, nose bleeding all over the place. I couldnt remember how i got into the patrol hut, what i was doing there, why i was dressed in my snowboard gear, who i rode the lift up with, the name of my girlfriend in the other room and on and on. Finally a buddy came in to offer me a ride to the hospital as the patroller asked me my name. As I was trying to remember my buddy (in high school physics at this point) says "Newton's three laws of motion" - and those i start rhyming off - "Vf equals Vnaught t + one-half a delta t squared" etc. No idea who I was though.

Doctors told me I should never snowboard again. Shouldnt play hockey, no biking. I should consider myself lucky I'm able to talk and didnt go full vegetable. That was '95. I was still a teenager. After that, I was one of, if not the first boarder on my hill to start wearing a helmet. To the delight of many single-line Statler and Waldorfs.

Now, over a decade later, I have to be EXTRA careful. Had a bit of a boot-out toeside back in Dec and came down before I could get my arms out.... regular crash you'll see multiple times from the chair any given day and sure enough... nausea, headaches, the ol' twitchy eyelid syndrome.

Please treat them seriously. Each one you have makes the next one that much easier to get. I can live with my gamey shoulder or bad ankle, or, or or... with the help of physio, rehab, ibuprofen etc. Reinjured that shoulder last weekend too. Like Dalton said - 'pain dont hurt' right? The thought of turning into a vegetable from another big concussion scares me too much to take any odds on that line.

I'm not saying to go easy.... just dont be stupid. The one thing I can attest to is that all the times i've actually used my helmets are the times i never thought i would have.

and, as i continue to prove i cannot come up with much from the jellied space between my ears... I have to quote BlueB...

"just my $0.02CAD"