This story is about a student and his experience with having a concussion during football season. Many football players from all levels of football have experienced a concussion due to the sport, this was the experience of senior Kavon Dunbar.
While Dunbar was playing football his junior year, he was struck in the head by the opposing team during a game. After the game Kavon started experiencing mild headaches.
Dunbar expresses challenges he’s faced playing sports, “Playing sports gave me a concussion It hurt really badly,” Dunbar said. “ I couldn’t come to school because the light hurt my eyes, I was behind in classes, it was just really bad. I wish I was more careful or there was more protection for football players for our heads.”
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a brain disease caused by constant blows to the head. CTE is Most common in sports like Soccer, Boxing and most recurrent in football. The disease is triggered by constant impact to the brain. Though CTE seems automatic, sometimes it takes time to show symptoms.
While he expresses his regret for prioritizing football over school. He experienced constant blows to the head during games because of how aggressive other players were. “ In all honesty I understand how careless some people can be, but a lot of the guys I was playing against were super aggressive for no reason, like it wasn’t that serious and because of other players’ careless actions it caused me to fall behind”.
Dunbar reveals his experience at school with a concussion “ so I didn’t come to school for like a week or so because of how bad my head hurt. The light was messing me up and making my head feel worse so when I did come to school I had to wear sunglasses, you’d have to make sure you don’t move too fast or you’ll get dizzy, also when I slept it was hard to lay back because it felt like something was sitting on my head. How I knew I had a concussion was when I came into school one day and I wasn’t able to read.”
He then goes into detail about his healing process and what he recommends for other football players.
“The healing process consisted of me going to a concussion clinic and getting my balance and head space right, also keeping your head out the way, your brain is super important, take it seriously and don’t rush the process. Take time off, do what you have to do to heal and step back from the field, take my advice I’ve had two.”
In conclusion, the lasting impact of concussions are undeniable, with consequences that impact the player not only on the field but off the field as well. As research deepens on this topic, It’s clear that concussions can lead to permanent damage,which is why enforcing better safety protocols and enforcing concussion management is important. Only through sustained commitment to player welfare can football players begin to protect themselves from future permanent damage.
