On October 1, an opposing player collided with me during our indoor soccer game. She got called for a penalty, I scored the penalty kick, the game ended, and I quickly realized I was not ok. The headache and nausea set in as I drove home. Unfortunately, in the weeks that followed, I continued to have more symptoms: dizziness, disorientation, brain fog, fatigue, along with the headaches and nausea. Concussion.

A did have a CT scan which showed everything was normal. But since this was my 4th concussion I knew I needed to pursue more treatment options. I was able to see Dr. Reams, a sport concussion neurologist who works with professional athletes. I explained my concussion history: the first was almost 20 years ago with a constant migraine for 9 months. The following 3 concussions were all from indoor soccer in the last two years.

Long story short, I’m in physical therapy to help my eye tracking and balance issues. My headaches and nausea have gotten better. But just when I think I’m ok and do more regular activities, I end up in bed for hours with a debilitating migraine.

The pains of head injuries aren’t necessarily visible. It’s missing kids’ bedtimes because I fell asleep before them. It’s needing other people to make the school newsletter, or coach soccer practice, or plan music because my brain just doesn’t have the capacity to process everything. It’s choosing to be home alone instead of at the family party. It means not playing soccer: not this week, not next month, possibly never again.

While my doctor thinks I’ll make a full recovery, sometimes it’s still hard to be positive. I miss my soccer friends. I miss being active and accomplishing things. I miss being able to do things on my own without needing everyone’s help.

But I’m so thankful for the friends and family who have taken my kids for play dates, coached soccer, planned music, taken care of school stuff, done the yard work, and so much more!

If you see me with my hat, sunglasses, hood up and ear plugs in, you know it’s been a rough day. Hopefully I’ll keep having less of those days and more progress to full health. ❤️🙏🏼