Now this is something I can relate to! This was when I was about 17. Riding
bareback (I didn't know how to put a saddle on when I was 17). No helmet. I
was SO naive. I'm surprised I survived my teen years. I'm vertically
challenged (read SHORT). I was riding a 16+ hand mutt gelding. I lived on
that horse. He wasn't mine, but I took him over for the summer. I'd been
riding about 8 months when my first bad accident happened.
My friend and I had JUST started our ride. I'm cantering on ahead to get the
gate out of the pasture. Blasted up a small hill. Nikko slipped and fell
hard. I fell with him (duh), but apparently clear because I didn't break any
bones.
I came to about 5 minutes later. I remember hearing birds chirping and my
friend talking to me. I don't remember my head hurting, but I'm sure it did.
After a minute, I managed to open my eyes and saw the trees (they seemed to
stretch up forever!) and the blue sky. Then my friend's face hovering near.
Me: "Hi!"
Her: "Yeah, hi, how are you feeling."
Me: "Nikko fell all over himself, didn't he?"
Her: "He sure did, how are you feeling?"
Me: "Ok. Where's Nikko?"
Her: "Over there with Serts."
Me: "Nikko fell all over himself, didn't he?"
Her: "Yeah."
Here I sit up and look around. Things didn't look quite right, but somehow
it didn't matter. My friend had let the horses go, but they were still in
sight.
Me: "Nikko fell all over himself, didn't he?"
Her: "Yeah, let's go back to the cars."
Me: "Ok."
She helped me up and we slowly headed back the quarter mile to the cars.
Me: "What day is it?"
Her: "May 5."
Me: "Hmmm. Ok. Nikko fell, didn't he?"
Her: "Yes."
Silence for a few steps.
Me: "What day is it?"
Her: "May 5."
Me: "I already asked that, didn't I?"
Her: "Yes, but that's ok."
Our conversation continued in much the same strain all the way to the car.
By the time we reached the hospital some 30 minutes away, I was much more
lucid.
While the nurse asked us questions, I found out I had had a seizure for the
5 minutes I had been unconscious. Immediate hospitalization. My chart read
"seizure due to head trauma." I was sent to a neurologist 2 or 3 times after
I was released from the hospital to make sure I wasn't going to have future
seizures.
I can't donate plasma anymore. Probably can't donate blood either. I haven't
tried lately.
I wear a helmet now.
April (Where's my helmet?)
Tanna (I don't fall like that...wait, I did something similar last week!)
Serts (I remember that...LONG time ago!)
Daniel (Where's your helmet?)
april@xxxxxxxxxx
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