Concussion Wakeboarding

I got the most BADASS concussion a couple of days ago wakeboarding. I guess I caught an edge really badly landing switch (I don't remember), got up again, dropped the rope, and said don't feel well. I proceeded to refuse a hospital visit and notifying my parents. INSTEAD, I drove home for an hour form the lake, in a blackout, to my house where my parents decided it would be a good idea to take me to th hospital. Has anyone ever gotten/know someone who has suffered a concussion this bad?

I had a friend catch an edge on a 360 and get a pretty good concussion. We could have stole his wakeskate afterwards because he had no idea he brought it with him. He also forgot that he drove and met us at the boat ramp and kept asking who was driving him home.

I was at Shasta on a houseboat a month and a half ago. Hit a DOuble Up for a huge off axis grab and didn't pull it back in. Blacked out in the water and don't remember anything for like
6-7 hours after that. When I came to I didn't know where I was, what had happened, or what kind of vehicle I drove. Never made it to the hospital since we had a medic on the boat. Just a little gun shy of that grab now.

(Message edited by ridn9high on August 13, 2004)

What did they tell you at the hospital? That would be your most useful source of information at this point. Really, there is no way for someone on this board to offer you any predictions for the future, especially based on such limited information. Most folks with an injury like that recover just fine after a short time. But, it does make you more susceptible to more concussions in the future, and the effects of these can be cumulative. If you suffer enough of these mild head injuries, you risk, among other things, acquiring symptoms similar to ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder). Most likely, you'll be alright if this is your first one. Try not to get any more.

I had a concussion similar to yours 2 seasons ago. I landed switch in the flats a little too nose heavy. Board caught, I smaked my face on the water. I laughed it off (thinking I had taken many falls like that), put my board back on and went for it. As the boat pulled me up, all of my memory for that day was wiped out. I suddenly didn't know who was in the boat, where we lauched, what had just happened, nothing from that day. They rushed me to the hospital and apparently I drove everyone nuts with the same questions over and over. "Where we goin', what happened, who was there, what was I doing when I fell?" Finally my wife wrote a FAQ and handed it to me on paper! haha

Anyway. It's one of those things that happens occasionaly when you smack just right. I've taken dozens of crashes just like that since, and all without head injury (that I know of)! All you can do is get a CT scan to make sure you brain isn't bleeding and proceed to rest for a couple weeks. If you take another one this soon, you could really jack yourself up. So do yourself a favor and take a couple weeks off.

I got one on the fourth of july this year and couldn't remember what lake I was on or what month it was. My wife took me to the ER and we spent about 5 hours there, I only remember about 15 minutes of being at the hospital and getting a CT. They told me no more wakeboarding for six months. Yea right, I was back out the next day. Felt a little funny all day, but was fine the next day.

"I was back out the next day."

That's exactly what you don't want to do.

This is how you end up in a coma, or brain dead. A wakeboarder died last year from multiple concussions in the Folsom CA area. It's not worth it. Although, I would agree that 6 months is excessive.

Last year I landed a jump but was leaning forward just enough to catch an edge @ about 22mph. Major face plant!! I ended up with a mild concusion and my forhead peeled open (blood all over my boat). My easy fix-wakeboard helmet! Looks kinda stupid, but doesnt hurt when you land on ur head. theyre cheap insurance.

haha j-rod my concussion wass similar to urs except i was snowboarding and ate ••••••• a slayer box and then i kept asking everyone im hungry what are we going to eat, where are we going, did i fall hard? lol my friend and his family sed that i asked all of those questions at least 40 times lol... i dont remember a single thing after i fell

Funny to see this right now.........
Day before yesterday I tried my first 360. I guess I rotated to early off the lip and just plain ate crap. All I remember is coming up out of the water going "OHHHH, AHHHH, OHHHAHHHH, " I'm thinking in my head, "Shut up! stop going Ohhh" but I could'nt. It really messed my neck/head up. I got in the boat dazed like never before just trying to re-orient myself and remember what I was doing and why................two days later, I still have a raging head ache

correction........180.not 360.........makes it even worse i guess....

Oris, that sucks that you fell that hard on your first 360 attempt.

I fell super hard about 3 weeks ago. It was one of those back edge, head snapping falls. I got a mild concusion and had a headache for over a week. Well the next weekend I went out, and had a silimar fall, but not as bad, which totally killed all of my confidence. But now its my neck thats killing me. I think I sprained it or something. I really want to get out Sunday, but now Im thinking I need to let my body rest for a weekend. But Im looking at the calender thinking, man there are only so many weekends left in my summer, and Im not ready to call it quits yet. So I might just suck it up!

One of my worst was riding in the flats doing nothing but messing around and caught the front edge. Slapped the water on the right side of my head. Buddies pulled me in the boat and I couldn't hear a thing in my right ear and my head felt really heavy. My friend said hold my nose try to clear my ears. When I did water spurted out of my ear. Went to the doc for antibiotics and it closed back up in a few weeks. Huh, what did you say? Just kidding no negative effects on my hearing, the body is amazing.

After reading all these horror stories, Now I don't fell like such a dork for wearing a helmet, I might not be pulling off any inverts or off-axis spins, but all it takes is to catch an edge and it's light's out for a few hours.

about 3 years ago I took a fall on an off axis heeside 5 and ended up short cause of the rough water anyway I went to the hospital about 5 hours later after anyoing everyone in the boat and my brain was still bleading they did a cat scan and kept me there for a while. I dont remember anything from the entire day that it happened and 2 more days after that. The only people I knew were my parents and little brother. Everyone that new me before and now after have noticed a huge change in my attention span and also say that I space out quite a bit. I have had a couple more since then but not that bad. It does kill some brain cells for sure. But what can you do there is nothing better than riding

I took a headslap on a W2W TS 180. I was concious, but my body went limp as I floated back up to the surface. I immediatly felt naucious, and had to hold my head up with my hands over my eyes, like I just wanted to go to sleep. It was a mild concussion. 5 years ago, I would have laughed it off and continued riding (young, dumb, and full of ____) but this hurt me. So I'm the moron you see out there riding with a helmet.

Dan,I second your experience,did it a couple of weeks ago,AGAIN!!!It sucks.I will also wear the damn short bus helmet when I ride.

i had a mild consussion the other day from one of my backrolls that i got off axis on accidentally, when i came to landing, my feet were crooked and i was still rotating a bit so as soon as the board caught the water, front edge caught and it was a whole body smack into the water. i blacked out and came around a second later after i had floated to the top of the water. it was all i could do to keep myself on my back and my head out of the water. i didnt have any of this crazy memory loss but all i wanted to do was go to sleep for the next couple hours. i think from now on ill be wearing my mountainboarding helmet. does it help with the face plants alot?

(Message edited by 512boarder on August 15, 2004)