Last year was a rough one for Victor seventh grader Allison Kem. She hopes when September rolls around and she heads off to eighth grade, things will be different.
In Sept. 2011 while playing in a lacrosse tournament, Kem suffered a severe concussion when a stray ball bounced off a goal post and hit her in the forehead. Because her injury was not diagnosed and she didn’t experience immediate or obvious symptoms, she was allowed to go back on the field and finished the game.
In the weeks and months that followed, Kem suffered severe pain, headaches, migraines, and memory loss. She was confined to a darkened room for three or four months. She missed half a year of school, struggled the rest of the school year, and her life has been greatly changed as a result. She will never be able to play a contact sport again.
“My thinking wasn’t clear and it was really hard to stay focused,” Kem said. “I had some personality changes, but after awhile that kind of went away. Now I can’t play contact sports now and risk getting another concussion because I was told that if I get another concussion I’ll have permanent memory loss.”
New legislation that took effect July 1 will hopefully help protect other student athletes from an experience like Kem’s.
As a result of the newly passed Concussion Management and Awareness Act, the Brain Injury Association of New York State (BIANYS) has put together a new guide book to help parents, students and school coaches, gym teachers, school nurses and athletic trainers navigate through the concussion process.
With a full year of recovery under her belt, Kem has been selected by the BIANYS to share her concussion story for their REAP (Reduce, Educate, Accommodate, Pace) Project.
“I’m hoping that it will help others realize the risk they’re taking,” said Kem, “and those who already have a concussion, I’m hoping it will help them deal with it. I just want to tell them that they’re not alone.”
Erin Weaver, Director of Family Services and Policy Development at BIANYS, has a laser focus on educating and equipping families and schools.
“Obviously a concussion is more than just a bump on the head — it can have very serious consequence,” said Weaver. “This legislation protects student athletes by assuring that students suspected of having a concussion are removed from the game until they have been symptom-free for no less that 24 hours and also receive written permission from a physician to return.”
Last year was a rough one for Victor seventh grader Allison Kem. She hopes when September rolls around and she heads off to eighth grade, things will be different.
In Sept. 2011 while playing in a lacrosse tournament, Kem suffered a severe concussion when a stray ball bounced off a goal post and hit her in the forehead. Because her injury was not diagnosed and she didn’t experience immediate or obvious symptoms, she was allowed to go back on the field and finished the game.
In the weeks and months that followed, Kem suffered severe pain, headaches, migraines, and memory loss. She was confined to a darkened room for three or four months. She missed half a year of school, struggled the rest of the school year, and her life has been greatly changed as a result. She will never be able to play a contact sport again.
“My thinking wasn’t clear and it was really hard to stay focused,” Kem said. “I had some personality changes, but after awhile that kind of went away. Now I can’t play contact sports now and risk getting another concussion because I was told that if I get another concussion I’ll have permanent memory loss.”
New legislation that took effect July 1 will hopefully help protect other student athletes from an experience like Kem’s.
As a result of the newly passed Concussion Management and Awareness Act, the Brain Injury Association of New York State (BIANYS) has put together a new guide book to help parents, students and school coaches, gym teachers, school nurses and athletic trainers navigate through the concussion process.
With a full year of recovery under her belt, Kem has been selected by the BIANYS to share her concussion story for their REAP (Reduce, Educate, Accommodate, Pace) Project.
“I’m hoping that it will help others realize the risk they’re taking,” said Kem, “and those who already have a concussion, I’m hoping it will help them deal with it. I just want to tell them that they’re not alone.”
Erin Weaver, Director of Family Services and Policy Development at BIANYS, has a laser focus on educating and equipping families and schools.
“Obviously a concussion is more than just a bump on the head — it can have very serious consequence,” said Weaver. “This legislation protects student athletes by assuring that students suspected of having a concussion are removed from the game until they have been symptom-free for no less that 24 hours and also receive written permission from a physician to return.”
Because of this legislation, Weaver said “coaches, gym teachers, school nurses and athletic trainers will receive instruction on signs and symptoms of concussion and ‘return to play’ protocol.”
The legislation also requires school districts to establish a concussion management team, which may include athletic directors, school nurses, school doctors, athletic trainers, coaches, and families, to oversee implementation of the state regulation.
At least 30 other states already have similar laws protecting students.
“It’s a good first step,” Weaver said. “Unfortunately, one of the challenges is if someone is suspected of having a concussion outside of the school setting, this law doesn’t protect them.”
After a long, arduous recovery, how has Kem’s ordeal changed her?
“I definitely feel like I’m kind of a different person now than even before the concussion,” she said. “Now I’m not afraid to advocate for myself and others. I feel like I’ve become stronger after this and now I understand the consequences.”
Kem urged the family members of individuals who may have a concussion to be sure to get them checked out “just in case.”
“When they do know that they have a concussion, keep an eye out for anything that could be going wrong,” she said. “And definitely for parents and guardians, make sure that the schools do know what’s going on so the schools can help you play out the whole situation.”
Kem urged friends and classmates to “stay by your friends who are going through this sort of thing because they can go through personality changes. Just know that they’ll get back to their normal selves very soon. Just make sure you keep them in the loop with everything.”
With eighth grade stretched out before her, Kem is looking forward to a new year and a fresh start.
“Hopefully I can have a normal, laid back year,” she said, “being able to maintain good grades and being able to participate in extra curricular activities and just kind of being with friends a lot more this year.”
Note: Due to summer vacations, comment from Victor Central School officials was not available at press time.
