I will push you down. And then I will kick you in the head.

Cat had her first regular-season spring game over the weekend.  It was a pretty typical game, until about 10 minutes before the end, when this happened.

So to break this down, Cat had the ball, the opponent pushed her down while trying to get to the ball, then continued to pursue the ball when Cat was on the ground and Cat's head happened to get in the way.  Cat grabbed her head, rolled over, stayed on the ground for a couple of seconds, then staggered away.

She had a few symptoms over the weekend: some dizziness, feeling off-balance, a headache, soreness in her neck, and loss of appetite.  I was concerned, but Ben didn't think it was a big deal.  After I brought it up a couple of times he said, "Okay, if you want a concussion, have a concussion!"

Cat took it easy the rest of the weekend, resting more than normal on Saturday and Sunday.  She went to school like normal on Monday, but planned not to play any soccer at school or afterward.

My worry was sparked again when I got a call from Cat Monday afternoon saying that she'd had a headache all day and it was getting worse.  She walked home from school while I was at piano lessons with the other two, and we talked through her symptoms when I got home.  Now, she was also dealing with sensitivity to light and loud noises and she had trouble focusing in class.  That's when I called our pediatrician.

Unfortunately, I called at 4:45, the precise moment (unbeknownst to me) that calls start getting forwarded to the answering service.  The on-call nurse listened to Cat's symptoms and told us that she needed to go to the ER for a CT.  I asked about going to a clinic instead but she was adamant that we had to go to the ER.  I even called the clinic near our house to see if they could do a CT and they said no, so we drove to the smallest, and hopefully least-busy, ER around.

I had all the kids with me so we prepared for approximately 37 hours at the hospital with homework, books, toys, snacks, and movies downloaded on a laptop.  When we got there the waiting room had local news playing on the TV so that provided supplemental entertainment.  Excellent.

Nobody was waiting, so Cat was taken to the exam room pretty quickly.  For the purpose of "privacy for the other patients," only two visitors are allowed per patient, and the nursing staff wouldn't make any exceptions just because Cat's visitors were minors.  So I had to leave two children with the local news in the waiting room and check on them periodically.

Luckily, the doctor saw Cat quickly.  And almost as quickly determined that she did NOT need a CT scan.  Good thing we went to the ER.

Cat definitely has a concussion, and treatment is just what you'd expect when any part of the body is injured.  If you hurt your leg, you give it rest.  If you hurt your brain, it needs rest too.  Cat definitely shouldn't go to school.  Or play soccer (or do anything else that might jostle her head).  Or read.  Or look at a screen.  Or listen to pop music or audiobooks.

Cat had some trouble sleeping right after the injury happened because of soreness in her neck.  It would hurt if she moved the wrong way.  In a demonstration of solidarity, Eliza chose to sleep on the floor, where it was less comfortable, since Cat wasn't sleeping comfortably.  Here she is, the morning after we went to the ER.

Neither Cat nor I were excited about the "recline in a dark room and do nothing until symptoms subside" treatment plan, but we figured we could approximate it by at least minimizing activity and brain use.  So for about 48 hours after going to the hospital Cat's activities included the following: getting lots of sleep, talking on the phone, making a batch of brownies, looking at a family photo album, and going to lunch with Ben.  She and I painted nails.  She spent extra time with Luke: playing games, reading books, doing sidewalk chalk, and even giving him a bath.

And on Wednesday, she got some surprise visitors.  Because the school talent show was shorter than expected, her friends had an extra-long lunch period.  So naturally they broke school rules and walked the block to our house so they could check on Cat.  It was really sweet and Cat was thrilled.  We rewarded them with lunch items, fruit snacks, and Toblerone chocolate, then dropped them off at the school on our way to meet Ben for lunch.

Later Wednesday afternoon we saw the pediatrician for a follow-up and were told that Cat could return to school, homework, etc., when she felt ready.  As for soccer, it is absolutely forbidden for at least a few days, and she will have to ease back into activity after that, as long as the symptoms don't return.

So, Cat attended school for the second half of the day today, largely so that she can find out what she needs to get caught up on over Spring Break next week.  She'll go to the rest of her classes tomorrow.  Then she can take her time completing assignments over the next week while not playing soccer.