My 3 year old had a concussion and has post concussion syndrome

[innerkitten]

Need to vent. This has been a very crazy four days. My daughter is three and half and is in physical therapy for a delay in fine motor skills. She fell backwards in physical therapy and hit her head pretty hard. The therapist carried her out and it was pretty obvious that something was wrong. She was shaky, couldn''t walk or stand and was vomiting. She was in the hospital for two nights so they could observe her, had a CT scan with showed no broken bones or bleeding. We got back yesterday. It''s nice to be home but it''s very hard seeing my little girl like this and I just really want to see her back to her old self. She''s very spaced out and says she feels wobbly, can only eat or drink very small amounts w/out throwing up. She been spending her day on the sofa sleeping or watching TV. She comes to life and is her old self for about four hours in the evening ( when her father comes home from work), eats a little drinks a little. But by morning she''s miserable and nauseous all over again.

All the doctors ( she saw several at the hospital plus her primary care doctor who visited and saw her this morning) say she''ll recover from this but I won''t feel better until I see an improvement. Her primary care doctor says it would be a good idea to visit the neurologist anyway next week even though a neurologist had taken a look at her scans tuesday and didn''t feel concerned.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Oh no, I''m so sorry this happened

What was going on when she fell?

It seems strange that this would hang around for so many days...it''s good that no one seems concerned, but I would definitely take her to see the neurologist again, something just doesn''t seem right about how long it''s taking for her to get over it. I had no idea a bonk on the head (a rather hard one, anyway) would make someone wobbly and nauseous - or is it just because she''s still essentially a baby?

 

[innerkitten]

Thanks MonkeyPie, I didn''t know it either. But since it happened I''ve heard a few stories of people needing up to a month to recover from a concussion. I guess that''s why it''s called post concussion syndrome. I really don''t know a lot about it myself. she was on a swing and fell backwards when she got hurt.

I want her to feel better again.

 

[Steel]

What a terrible shock.

I hope you see a recovery in her soon, it is great news that the professionals feel she has not sustained any perm injuries.

Best wishes for her quick recovery, the poor little girl.

 

[Pandora II]

I''m so sorry, you must feel horrible.

I was concussed at the age of 4 - fell backwards off someone''s shoulders straight onto concrete. Had all the same symptoms as your daughter. My father (who''s an MD) was very worried - especially as we were living on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere and no access to scanners etc. It took about 2 weeks for me to be normal again, but no long-term effects. Hopefully all your daughter needs is a bit of time and lots of hugs.

 

[innerkitten]

Thanks Pandora, It always makes me feel a little better to hear stories from other people that have been through the same thing.

Steel, thanks for your well wishes.

 

[Ara Ann]

Wow...that is frightening! Must be hard to see her like that...I can''t imagine! Sending prayers for a speedy and complete recovery your daughter''s way!

And also, did the therapist say how/why this happened during her session? I know accidents happen, I just don''t understand why/how she fell and hit her head during a supervised PT session...shouldn''t someone have been right there with her? Are there other kids in the room at the same time? I would hope an explanation of how and why would be made available to you as her mother...that would have me concerned for other kids as well.

Keep us posted on how she''s doing!

 

[radiantquest]

Oh, that is awful. I hope that she gets better. Please keep us posted.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I am so sorry to hear this! How scary! I have no experience or advice but just wanted to wish your daughter a QUICK recovery!

 

[Kaleigh]

Yikes how scary innerkitten. When I was 5, I was running by an indoor pool, ( I know a big no no ) slipped and whacked my head pretty hard. I did have many of the sypmtoms your daughter is having. Took a few days to clear up.

Wishing her a very speedy recovery. HUGS!!!

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

So sorry to hear this, Innerkitten. Thinking positive thoughts for your little girl''s speedy recovery.

I had something similar a few years back after a horseriding accident. I took a couple of weeks to feel normal again. Even though all my scans were clear, I was just a bit ''odd'' for a while. I got over it with no lasting effects. I think it can just take a while, whatever age you are.

I also remember being very, very tired afterwards. Maybe that''s why your daughter just wants to nap on the sofa.

Thinking about you, big hugs.

Jen

 

[EricaR]

I basically grew up on the back of a horse, and spent a good bit of time falling off! With a hard enough smack it sometimes took a week or two to get back to normal. One thing to be careful of is subsequent concussions in quick succession - they can get more and more severe. After each fall/head smack I was grounded from riding for at least a month.

I hope she''s feeling back to normal soon!

 

[somethingshiny]

I''m sorry to hear this!

My nephew got a concussion over the summer. He was about 2.5 and fell off a chair onto concrete. He broke his collarbone and got a concussion. To be honest, I''d say within a week I couldn''t tell he had ever had the concussion. The broken clavicle on the other hand took quite a while to heal.


Warmest get well wishes!!

 

[Kay]

I am so sorry to hear about your daughter''s accident, Innerkitten. I hope she feels better very soon. Hugs.

 

[monarch64]

Oh, my. IK--I had a bad concussion as the result of a fall when I was 7. I can''t remember anything that happened that week and I believe I was out of school for about 2 weeks total. It was obviously very traumatic for my family, especially my mother, who wasn''t with me when I fell. I was also told to avoid head injuries ever since then and have always had that in the back of my mind. I started to get migraines with aura when I was 14 and they have never stopped, and I have a couple other issues which might have stemmed from that initial concussion. Otherwise I lead a pretty healthy and normal life...it doesn''t seem to have affected me too adversely. I hope that your daughter is ok and doesn''t suffer further issues from this. You must be very, very worried...my heart goes out to you.

 

[NYCsparkle]

oh my goodness, how scary innerkitten.

i hope your daughter fully recovers soon.

 

[asscherisme]

I hope she gets better soon.

How could this happen? My kids get OT and I can''t imagine them getting a concusion from it.

As a side note, I hope they would pay any out of cost medical expenses you have since it happened on thier watch.

 

[geckodani]

Date: 10/22/2009 4:50:21 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
I am so sorry to hear this! How scary! I have no experience or advice but just wanted to wish your daughter a QUICK recovery!

Ditto this! I''m so sorry! Lots of hugs to your little one.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 10/23/2009 11:39:22 AM
Author: asscherisme
I hope she gets better soon.

How could this happen? My kids get OT and I can''t imagine them getting a concusion from it.

As a side note, I hope they would pay any out of cost medical expenses you have since it happened on thier watch.

I was thinking about this, too. I know accidents happen - and on a swing, a falling child is hard to catch - but still.

 

[packrat]

How scary IK! I hope your daughter improves soon-poor thing!

 

[innerkitten]

Thanks everyone. Tabetha finally started to eat and drink ( and keep it down) ,it''s given her much more energy. She''s still a little tired but on her way to recovery for sure She visited her neurologist yesterday too. He called it a grade B concussion and said what we had already heard that she has post concussion syndrome. She is supposed to take it easy for the next three to four weeks because if you hurt your head before you''ve healed it can be even worse. So ,no play structures, tumbling, sports etc. I guess we''ll just find quiet activities to do like art classes and library readings.

 

[Snicklefritz]

Oh gosh, your situation sounds so awful. I can''t imagine your anxiety. Wishing you all the best!

 

[Kaleigh]

Thanks for the update. Hoping these next few weeks fly by and that she''s healed once and for all. I know how nerve wracking this must be. HUGS!!!

 

[snlee]

I am so sorry to hear. How scary! I wish your daughter a quick recovery.

 

[miraclesrule]

Oh, poor thing. That''s such a fright. I wish her a speedy recovery.

 

[Beacon]

Sorry about this very traumatic experience and I hope your daughter will recover soon. It sounds like she''ll be ok and has had a good work up to see if there are any bad problems. Hopefully she''ll be fine soon enough.

 

[junebug17]

I''m so glad to hear your girl is starting to feel a little better! Sounds like she''s going to be fine, sending positive thoughts for a speedy full recovery!