After I got home from the hospital, I had about a week to rest up before the school year began. I took that time to just hang out and relax in hopes of feeling a lot better by the time school started.
As I went back to school that first week, I noticed I had some serious problems. Previously, I had been a straight A student and could multi task accomplishing anything that needed to be done. But now, I couldn't focus in the class at all. I couldn't remember anything that I was told or memorize information from a lesson. The florescent lights in the classrooms made my headache horrible and having to read even the smallest amount made my vision go completely blurry. As I walked through the hallways with the loud noises, I began to feel very dizzy like I would almost faint. To say the least, I was not myself.
After struggling to get through a full day of school, it was impossible to do anything afterschool. Putting all of my effort into dealing with the headaches meant I couldn't make it to soccer practices or to even do homework once I got home.
As the weeks progressed and my symptoms stayed the same, it was clear to my parents and I that school right now was not an option. I ended up going to my pediatrician and the Concussion Clinic at Boston Children's Hospital where thy advised that I be completely pulled from school to let my brain rest.
Although it was a relief knowing that my days would be a little less stressful and painful, I was devastated that I would not be seeing my friends or returning to any kind of a normal life.
The school assigned me tutors that came a few times a week. One focused on English and History while another taught me in Chemistry and Math. Unfortunately, as the weeks continued, I realized the immense amount of work I was behind on and we decided that if there was any chance of me catching up, I would have to drop Latin.
My days continued in this manner: sleep in as late as possible, (because without sleep, my headaches were unbearable) and do a small amount of homework followed by constantly taking breaks (because any kind of visual work I had to do, increased the headaches and blurred vision).
Around December, I had seen a little improvement in my headaches so my doctors decided it would be good for me to try going back to school. I went back slowly only going in for 1 period a day then coming home and completely crashing because that took all my energy out of me. Eventually, I tried to go in for half days, then full days as much as I could tolerate. Things seemed to be getting better as I had a study and tutors to continue helping me catch up.
Unfortunately, that February, I had a horrible set back. I pushed myself too far while playing softball after I was cleared by my doctor to go back to non-contact sports. I also had MCAS that week and my brain completely shut down. My symptoms came back as strong as they had ever been and yet again, I had to be pulled from school.
With tons of hard work, I was barely able to finish the school year on time. My parents and I had a good laugh when we calculated I had only been in school for 40 DAYS that whole year!! Unfortunately, I did have to take an incomplete in geometry which meant my junior year, I would have to retake half of the course but I was just glad I had the summer time to rest.
This past year in school, I went back to school hoping to feel a lot better and be able to tolerate more. But still, I struggled with the headaches, concentration issues and blurred vision. I still never completed a full week of school because I would sleep in some days, leave early or not make it in at all. I was able to tolerate a lot more since my memory problems were better and I was able finish on time but it again was a struggle at times with the headaches and vision problems.
I have found that education is a really big issue when it comes to concussions. In my experience, teachers either understand where you're coming from or they don't. I have had some phenomenal teachers who have worked with me, made accommodations and have helped me understand and succeed. I have also had teachers that do not care about the circumstances that I am dealing with and feel that I should be able to function at the same level that a normal teenager can because I look completely fine. But as much as I would like to, I cant.
Accommodations is another huge part to success in school!! Any doctor can fill out a list of concussion accommodations that can include:
-Extra time to complete tests
-testing over multiple sessions
-testing in a quiet environment
-reduce length of tests
-workload reduction
-note taking
-breaks
School has been a difficult part of my life because it had previously been a proud accomplishment of mine. I have had to teach myself how to learn in a completely different way. My grades have dropped slightly but I have maintained them enough to be in the National Honor Society in my school. I have found some great tools that I will continue to use to overcome these debilitating symptoms on a daily basis.
No comments:
Post a Comment