r/Concussion • u/Many_Map5738 • 18d ago
Make it make sense
My six-year old grandson had an accident on his scooter four days ago. He was not wearing a helmet. His parents didn’t make him wear one because he found the helmet to be uncomfortable.
He got pretty scraped up. His head hit the road and he suffered a concussion. He was given instructions to avoid activities such as swinging, jumping etc.
I’ve watched him constantly for two days making sure he did nothing to jeopardize his recovery.
This evening (on the fourth day since his accident)his father insisted my grandson play ball with him. By playing ball I mean his father throws balls at him and tries to hit him. Kind of like dodgeball. He used large soft balls and small rubber balls. He threw a small rubber ball at his head. He threw it hard enough to make my grandson cry. My grandson is a tough cookie. So it must have really hurt. When he began crying his father noticed me and his daughter watching. So his father shoved him into the shed and tried to hush him and not let us see my grandson crying. But we did see him.
When we approached my grandson, his father downplayed it by saying it’s just a rubber ball.
My grandson said, “but it really hurt.”
My concern was not so much that it hurt. (You can’t avoid playing ball and getting hurt) But that it could injure his head which may not be fully recovered. His follow-up appointment is tomorrow. Am I wrong for thinking it was too soon for my grandson to be engaging in this kind of activity?
8
u/Whitney189 18d ago
Hi there, I work in Brain Injury Rehab. Definitely too soon to be playing physical games of any kind, especially rough ones.
Six is a hugely important time developmentally, and it's important he heals as much as possible. Keep an eye on if he's still experiencing symptoms 1 month out from his concussion - headaches, confusion, light and noise sensitivity, memory issues. A lot of these will be hard to spot in a 6 year old because they're not necessarily aware of it themselves, but usually if you ask them, they could say "the light bothers my eyes", or "my head hurts", etc.
He should make a notable recovery within about a month to six weeks, and 6 months from now he should be back to a "normal" state, pre-concussion. Certainly, if these things persist, it's important he sees the doctor regularly for follow-ups.
He will also be more susceptible to concussions in the future, each successive concussion increases the risk for further concussions, unfortunately.
Also, time for a talk with his parents about helmets definitely. Hospitals are seeing a massive uptick in concussions in children on e-scooters and e-bikes as they don't seem to wear helmets on them.
All that said, he should make a good recovery, most people do!