By Angelina Ricker
According to the Cleveland Clinic, concussions normally last a few weeks or up to a month, but anyone who knows freshman Ramsey Nalle knows that this hasn’t been the case for her. On March 15th, Ramsey celebrated her “anniversary” with her concussion, marking the sixth month since she first got it.
It happened in the middle of a softball game last year, when she and one of her teammates collided head-on. Since then, she has been dealing with constant headaches and many other difficulties with classes and extracurriculars.
For instance, she is advised to avoid devices such as phones and laptops, as they could worsen symptoms and even prolong the concussion. This can be challenging, since many classes use digital applications such as MyLion and Drive.
Staring at screens gives her headaches. So does working out or getting her heart rate up. Those activities can even worsen her vision. For Ramsey, more of the day is spent in pain than isn’t.
The pain fluctuates. Sometimes, her head hurts a little less than it did the day before, sparking hope that she will be cleared, only for it to be ten times worse the next week, “so no y=mx+b up in here,” Ramsey joked. (I think Algebra 2 has gotten to her.)
Consequently, everyday homework, such as reading, becomes an even greater burden. That becomes irritating, especially since in her English class they were busy reading Catcher in the Rye, writing an essay about it, and immediately beginning The Odyssey right after.
“Anything that challenges your brain makes it worse,” Ramsey said. “You’d be surprised how much focusing your brain has to do to process what you’re reading.”
Additionally, her concussion forces her to skip PE and forfeit being active in softball and swimming. For Ramsey, her sports abilities play a huge role in her identity, and when that was taken away, it took an immense toll on her mental health.
“It was hard to find who I was when I couldn’t do softball or swim,” Ramsey said. “I was just watching everyone do what I wanted to do and was very frustrated with myself for how long it [the concussion] lasted.”
But, through some digging on the internet, Ramsey discovered and joined a group named Morgan’s Message that was created in honor of a student athlete at Duke University who had died by suicide. The group aims to “eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health within the student-athlete community.”
Ramsey is a part of Lovett’s Morgan’s Message club. If you’ve been near the locker rooms recently, you might have seen the paper butterflies with inspiring messages, a project Ramsey developed to strengthen mental health here at Lovett.
So if there’s one thing that Ramsey’s taught me, it’s that it’s possible to turn a deep struggle into something positive. Yes, Ramsey still has to deal with headaches, vision loss, and not being able to participate in her sports, but she has been able to support other students who may be struggling and even manages to joke about her situation and stay positive throughout the day.
