Ted talk revisions

Title: Concussions are more serious than you think, believe me I've had 4

Put these statistics on a slideshow

I believe that people need to be more aware of the effects  of concussions.

-50% of "second impact syndrome" incidents - brain injury caused from a premature return to activity after suffering initial injury (concussion) - result in death. This is important because it shows how severe concussions are.

-400,000 brain injuries (concussions) occurred in high school athletics during the 2008-09 school year.this shows how affective concussions are to young high school athletes.

-15.8% of football players who sustain a concussion severe enough to cause loss of consciousness return to play the same day. This shows that people don't take action right after impact and continue to play through their injury which just makes it worse.

-High school athletes who have been concussed are three times more likely to suffer another concussion in the same season. This shows that the more concussions you have, the more prone you are to getting them.

I believe that concussions can ruin someones life if they are not treated properly

Slideshow and Pictures/descriptions

1. what is a concussion? : a lot of people don’t actually know what a concussion is so they overlook their syptoms and dont treat it properly.
2. what actually happens to the brain : in extreme cases there can be bleeding but most of the time it is just a brain sprain. The neck is a huge factor. The neck flings your head which causes your brain to bounce around and swell up.
3. symptoms: headache, nausea, drowsiness, depression, anxiety
4. how to treat it: no cell phone, no computer, no electronics period. No caffiene, no sports.
5. effects of not treating it: long term brain issues, memory loss, more prone to getting another one

Body Paragraph

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh8npqW7MY0  marc savard video

This is an example of one of the most famous concussion cases:

Marc Savard is a hockey player in the NHL. Mark Savard is one of many hockey players who suffered from a major concussion. On March 7, 2010, Savard stepped on the ice for the first time since he last got injured in January of the same year. He ended up getting a concussion in the third period of that game, but eventually recovered. On January 23, 2011, Savard then suffered a second concussion on a hit by former Bruin Matt Hunwick in a game against the Colorado Avalanche. On February 8, 2011, the Bruins opted to shut Savard down for the season after he received his second concussion in ten months. The Bruins went on to win the Stanley Cup, defeating the Vancouver Canucks in seven games. Due to recurring symptoms of post-concussion syndrome, Savard was not able to travel to Vancouver to take part in the on-ice victory celebration with his teammates, but he was able to join them back in Boston for the official victory parade. This is important because Savard wasn't even able to watch his team in the Stanley cup finals.

This story shows how not treating a concussion properly can just make it worse. When Savard first got injured he never waited for it to fully heal and that's why he was so prone to get another concussion. Although he was in good hands with a top of the line medical staff, he still was allowed to go back and play after his first concussion, which caused him to get his career ending hit. If people took concussions more seriously his injury could have been avoided. Marc Savard is not the only one that made the decision to play instead of heal. People over look their symptoms and don't let themselves get better before starting to play again. Don't take concussions lightly and let yourself heal before going back to your sport.

Conclusion

Now, I would like to share My story with you all: I’ve had 4 concussions total. I received my most recent concussion on April 19th, 2014. I was at a tournament in Philadelphia playing for husky volleyball, on my club team. We were playing a team from Baltimore and they had huge girls who hit very hard. One girl went up to hit and hit me straight in the face with the ball and I fell down and was on the ground for a long time. My mom and sister rushed over and I went to the trainer at the tournament. They immediately made me leave the convention center and leave Philadelphia as a whole because I would not be able to play the rest of the weekend. Little did I know, that was the last time I would ever play club volleyball. I was not allowed to watch my team finish their tournament. And I was not allowed to watch my team finish the rest of their season. Everyone knew, on impact, that I was concussed. During that game, I was being recruited to play college volleyball. After going to multiple doctors, I was told I will never be able to play volleyball again. But, after begging and begging, my neurologist allowed me to play for my high school team my senior year.

My concussion not only affected My brain, but it affected all of my future plans. I was unable to sit in the venue at my prom a month after the concussion happened. I was told I was not allowed to play volleyball in College which has been my dream since I first started playing volleyball. so a lot of doors closed for me when it came to college. I was rejected by my top choice, and that was largely due to the fact that I was not able to participate in volleyball. If I was still allowed to play in college, I would have a much better chance of getting into schools. If I had listened to my doctor after my third concussion, and stopped playing volleyballat that time, then I would never have to live with all of the affects that I have to live with now. Now, I am unable to memorize simple things like a phone number. I couldn't even memorize this speech which is why I'm reading off of something. I have migraines 8-11 days a month, and it will only get worse. I'm not allowed to have any artificial sugars or sweeteners, and when I first got my concussion all I was Allowed to eat was carbs and I was not allowed to be active or workout at all, so you can imagine how much weight I gained. I currently suffer from insomnia. As I get older, I will have a higher chance of getting dimensia, more extreme cases of memory loss, and continuous migraines. None of these problems would be present if i had just let myself heal. Although all of these bad things came from my concussion, I still have faith that I will get into a good college and be able to live my life the same as those who haven't traveled down the paths I have. there is a quote by Steve Jobs that I live by and that encaptures how I feel. "Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith."

In conclusion, people really do need to take concussions more seriously. If i treated my concussions and healed before I came back to play, I wouldn't have gotten my most recent one as easily. And the same goes for Marc Savard. He had to end his career just like I did. Don't make the same mistakes that Marc and I both made. What's more important? Finishing out the game or living a more healthy and safe life?