Our son suffered two concussion within six months playing hockey. His first concussion resulted in the typical symptoms range but we were concerned after his second concussion with more acute symptoms. He had problems untying his skates after the game and his vision and coordination were “off.”
From Hospital Testing to Functional Neurology
We took him to the hospital for a battery of memory and light tests but it was disconcerting that his symptoms seem to be exacerbated from the testing. The testing was also very subjective and any 12-year-old would answer in a way that would diagnose a concussion.
When I heard about functional neurology I was all over it. We went to Dr. Schmoe and I knew instantly that the subjectiveness was gone and we were going to track his vision with objective software and do light “retraining” of our son’s body with light kinesiological awareness movements.
Cleared for Play, But Still Cautious
Our son was cleared by the hospital for contact sports after a couple months but took a few more months to be cleared by Dr. Schmoe based on his vision. We have since kept him out of football and hockey but may re-introduce him to football in high school after sitting a couple years out. I believe the body can heal from concussions, but has a real hard time with multiple concussions in shorter timeframes.
We are so glad we met with Dr. Schmoe and felt our son’s concussions could be “rehabbed.” It is such a difficult decision for parents and our son has replaced his love for hockey and football with guitar and downhill skiing activities, and he continues to play baseball.
The Sathers
