Post-concussion

There is a period of time, following a head-bonk such as mine, where one experiences something called post-concussion syndrome.  Things like vomiting, dizziness, hyper-sensitivity to light (including that from computer screens), inability to concentrate, fatigue, and headaches are just a few of the wonderful symptoms that I experienced during this post-concussion phase.

Although these symptoms are expected, any increase (or lack of improvement) in any of them can be a sign of problems brewing inside the head. Fortunately, that was not the case with me.

By Tuesday, the dizziness had resolved.  I still experienced a headache, but it was dull in nature and tolerable.  No longer did I need to sleep all day long; I think I counted 3 power naps that day. The biggest issue for me, was that my leg wound was becoming infected.

As you might imagine, I was less than thrilled (but not surprised) to experience a wound infection.  I was on it, sending a message to my physician at 8:35 am requesting antibiotics.  At 2 pm, I still hadn’t heard back from her so I called the advice line.  It was after 4 pm, when I finally received a call to notify me that my antibiotic was ready for pickup.  My leg was expressing the worse display of “angry” it could by this time.

I grabbed my keys and got behind the wheel of my van for the first time since Saturday. It wasn’t fun.  The stop and go traffic left me feeling a little motion-sick.

Heads were turning right and left as I hobbled past people at Kaiser. They may have initially been checking out my legs, but as the onlookers eyes’ arrived at my wound, I could see their faces turn to horror.  Most, could not hold back the urge to gasp. “Treadmill” I said as I moved towards pharmacy.

Fortunately for me, my leg also caught the attention of Mary Medical Assistant.  She had me wait, while she went into the (already closed) Minor Injury Clinic to see if she could get me seen.  Nurse Nancy came out and ushered me right in for a good wound cleaning, and dressing. Nurse Nancy warned me that it would hurt and advised me to take “the strongest pain med” I had before going to bed that night.  She booked me for a return appointment the following morning with Dr. K.  

The following morning, Nurse Nancy removed my dressing.  The non-adherent pad, having stuck to the wound, debrided the wound nicely.  Dr. K examined the wound, and doubled my antibiotic dose.  We discussed the symptoms I’d been experiencing following my head-bonk. Dr. K explained in detail what to watch for, and advised me to REST all that I could in the coming days.   Dr. K gave me a note excusing me from work for the remainder of the week and easing me back to work with 6 hour days for the 1st week following my return.

While the initial sticking of the non-adherent pad was a good thing, it was not a good thing in the days that followed.  No matter how much I soaked the dressing, I could not remove the pad without causing the wound new trauma.  So…yesterday, I decided to leave my wound open to air.  I walked around in a paranoid state, not letting people walk behind me for fear that they would bump my leg.  And, once more, heads turned in horror.  

At least today, the wound has an ever so thin layer of tissue forming that will allow me to wear a long skirt to limit viewing.  It will also protect it from sunlight, which I am told to keep it out of for the next 6 months (to avoid significant scarring).  Additionally, I was ordered to avoid any physical activities where I could possibly hit my head again for a period of 1 month.  Running and cycling were called out specifically.

Note: I’ll need to get some sun-protective leg wear that I can use for summer trail running.  Any suggestions?