Concussion

It hasn't even been a week yet since I wrecked but already I can laugh a little at the situation.

Here's the story, at least how I remember it, and what others have told me.

I remember coming to the top of a dune and starting to come back down the other side of it when in that split second I had several thoughts race through my mind. 1st, Surprise that there was a sudden drop coming, 2nd, "Oh crap." 3rd, "I hope I can hold on." and 4th, "I think this is gonna hurt." Isn't it amazing that our brains can think all that in just a slit second?

At some point the four-wheeler came over me, somehow, and I remember getting hit in the back of the head. I was laying face down and I looked up and saw my four-wheeler on its side.

The next thing I remember is waking up laying on my back with my helmet off. I honestly could not remember who I had been on a ride with that morning but the bigger thing that concerned me, oddly enough, at that moment was that I could not remember putting my boots on that morning. You'd think that not knowing who I was riding with would have been a bigger concern than not remembering putting my riding boots on. Apparently not.

To fill in what happened since I crashed and got my helmet off I had to be told what happened because I still don't remember. I had been on a ride with Kelli, it was just the two of us. Kelli says that I tried to tell her I was ok and that I'd ride my four-wheeler back to camp and I guess she had to be pretty forceful in getting me to stay put. I think I passed out before she even left to get help.

I guess I was bawling when Brian and Tina showed up in the RZR. Luckily for me, our friend Kevin's middle name is Crash, so Brian is very prepared for these types of situations. He concluded that I was not injured physically but that I had a concussion and was in shock. Tina drove me in the RZR (the second time it rescued my family this week) while Brian drove my quad. Kelli happened to meet Brian and Tina on her way back to camp and sent them my way (with my safety flag at the top of the dune where I was) and Kelli went to get Neil.

I think I was bawling the entire way back to camp cradling my helmet the whole way. Tina kept patting my knee. I don't remember getting into my trailer but eventually I was laying on my bed with my boots off.

Now usually when someone gets hurt, I'm the insensitive person who gets the camera out to document so there are no pictures or videos of me all coockoo. From what I've been told, when you get a concussion your brain goes through cycles where you'll be in hysterics one minute and the next you'll be calmly wondering what's going on oblivious to anything wrong and then highly inquisitive. And back through the whole thing again. To make sure I was progressing and doing ok my responses and answers were supposed to get better, which they did, and I needed to stay awake. Neil asked me lots of things, like where we were, my name, etc etc.

Neil or Brian could tell it better than I. I've told you about bawling, I guess there was lots of bawling. I asked where Zoey was about a hundred times. Someone brought her in so I could see her and I asked where she was like a minute after she left. I asked for my "mommy" too. I was kinda fixated on my boots too, not remembering putting them on, and I guess kept asking about it. It freaked me out that I couldn't remember things and I remember actually being scared about it.

A few hours later I could remember more and my answer cycles were about done. I had a horrendous headache and still am getting headaches but it's much much better now.

There's the story, at least what I know of it. It kinda makes me laugh that I could act that way, totally not knowing, but at the same time it's a reminder of how fragile life really is.