Wednesday, January 27, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
21
Identifying, dealing with concussion Alpine skiers place well
in Giant Slalom
By Jim Cornelius
News Editor
While the focus on con-
cussions generally revolves
around youth sports, concus-
sions can happen anywhere. A
kid — or an adult — can get
a concussion falling on the
ski slopes; crashing a bike; or
slipping on ice on the drive-
way. Any blow to the head
— or even a severe jolt to the
body — can rock the brain
and cause injury.
Signs and symptoms of a
concussion may include:
• Headache or a feeling of
pressure in the head
• Temporary loss of
consciousness
• Confusion or feeling as if
in a fog
• Amnesia surrounding the
traumatic event
• Dizziness or seeing stars
• Ringing in the ears
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Slurred speech
• Delayed response to
questions
• Appearing dazed
• Fatigue
Some symptoms of con-
cussions may be immediate
or delayed in onset by hours
or days after injury, such as:
• Concentration and mem-
ory complaints
• Irritability and other per-
sonality changes
• Sensitivity to light and
noise
• Sleep disturbances
• Psychological adjustment
problems and depression
• Disorders of taste and
smell
Information from The
Mayo Clinic
Sisters High School nurse
Trish Roy cannot diagnose
concussion. When she rec-
ognizes the symptoms, she
recommends that parents get
medical attention for their
injured child. And if symp-
toms are lasting, “We really
encourage them to see a con-
cussion specialist.”
Cort Horner and his fam-
ily have been dealing with
long-term concussion impacts
involving their son Ty. Now
a high school freshman, Ty
suffered a concussion in 8th-
grade football. In consult-
ing with a neurologist, they
tracked Ty’s active history
back and identified other
instances of concussion.
Multiple concussions (and
sometimes single concus-
sions) can trigger effects that
are slow to evolve, difficult to
pinpoint exactly and take time
and work to address.
“It took time to see what
was going on with Ty,”
Horner told The Nugget. He
said Ty was “a little more
emotional. Definitely saw
symptoms that people would
attribute to ADD.”
Process-oriented thought
— this step follows that step
— seemed to be challenging.
“Math was very difficult,
all of a sudden,” Horner said.
Ty’s condition required
accommodations in the class-
room — with mixed results,
according to Cort. Ty is now
in school at West Linn, where
his family feels his needs can
be better met (see related
story, page 8).
Horner notes that — tough
as it is with kids — it’s impor-
tant when a child has a brain
injury to “keep them away
from digital stimulation.” He
noted that Ty would develop
headaches after screen time.
Rest of the brain is critical to
recovery.
Such a situation is, obvi-
ously, very frustrating for a
young person and tough on
his or her parents. Elite Sisters
skier Jenna Sneva suffered
debilitating post-concussion
symptoms in college that
changed her life completely
— and led to her advocacy for
Jenna’s Law, which extends
concussion training require-
ments to non-school youth
sports coaches (see links to
Sneva’s story accompany-
ing the online version of this
story). Other Sisters parents
are struggling with serious
post-concussion issues now.
But Horner emphasizes
that time, rest, accommoda-
tion and work with profes-
sionals offers plenty of hope
for people struggling with
lingering post-concussion
effects.
“What is hopeful is it’s
not permanent,” he said. “It’s
retraining your brain.”
With fresh snow on the
slopes of Mt. Bachelor, the
Sisters Alpine Ski Team
endured full winter condi-
tions for their third race of the
2016 season.
Team co-captains and
seniors Cammi Benson and
Betsy Ausman placed 10th
and 12th respectively out of
53 women racers from across
the state.
“The girls field is really
competitive this year. These
are the top female racers in
the state, and many of them
compete nationally. So plac-
ing 10th and 12th is a huge
accomplishment,” said Head
Coach Greg Ausman.
Sisters sophomore
Holland Hartman moved up
in the ranking this race to
35th.
“Holland is learning race
techniques quickly, and her
placings are improving every
race,” said Coach Ausman.
Rounding out the wom-
en’s team for this race is new
member Shae Gascon.
“Shae came out of the
starting gate very aggres-
sively on her first run,
missed some gates, and
learned it’s better to stay in
control and pace yourself.
She did much better on her
second run,” said Coach
Ausman.
Representing the men’s
team, Lachlan Wood placed
33rd overall, and John Banks
close behind placing 35th out
of 52 competitors.
Next week the ski teams
will be racing on a slalom
course at Mt. Bachelor.
photo by julie benson
Holland Hartman takes a gate in giant slalom.
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