Imagine that you’ve just made an incredible catch, suddenly you take a hit from what feels like a high-speed train. Most of the impact was taken to your helmet. You’re left there laying on the field feeling nauseous, confused about what just happened, and having the biggest headache in the world. You’re able to get on your feet, but don’t want to get taken out of the game. Do you tough it out and stay in the game or do you sit out? The decision you make could change your life. So, what actually happened? Turns out you have just received one of the biggest sports injuries, a concussion.
The issue of concussions has been a topic that continues to be discussed in football since 2013. It could be said that with all the recent concussion injuries…show more content… Back in 2006, he nearly died playing football after having received two concussions. He suffered from second impact syndrome. According to WebMD, “second impact syndrome can happen within minutes, hours, days, or weeks after an initial concussion” (Guthrie). Had he sat out after and let his concussion heal, he’d still be playing football today. Instead, he chose to ignore his injury and continued to play through it. His life has been altered, “now at the age of 22, he struggles to remember his day to day schedule, and needs to rely on his mother for help with short term memory” (Guthrie). Zachery has advocated and raised awareness about the dangers of concussions. He and his father traveled to schools to share his story with students and talk about the serious dangers of concussions. He’s heard similar stories to his, several in which athletes later died. He felt that there needed something to be done. That’s when all the advocating he had done led to a breakthrough. In 2009, the Lysted Law took effect which mandated for players showing symptoms of concussion to be removed from play—once cleared by a medic—could then return to play. Every state is required to have RTP guidelines in place to assess concussions and to handle them accordingly. His story shows what could happen if one were to not take the
