“Twenty- three so far as of January 10th” is how many students have had concussions this year, according to Mary Goldsmith, the school nurse. Goldsmith has seen how it affects students and says “it’s really hard for students,” later adding, “stress makes the symptoms worse.”

A concussion is a brain injury caused by a blow to the head or a violent shaking of the head and body. A concussion comes with more side effects than just headaches. People with concussions can also suffer from confusion, memory loss, nausea and vomiting, dizziness, sleepiness and often feel depressed.

According to US News, around 55.5 percent of students play a high school sport, so lots of athletes suffer from injuries like fractures, bruises or sprains. But concussions are becoming a lot more common in athletes also.

In 2011 it was estimated that since 2001 there had been a 60 percent increase in the number of concussions and other traumatic brain injuries seen in young athletes. According to Time, 20 percent  of teenagers have suffered from a concussion and 5.5 percent of that have suffered more than one.

Junior Amy Clark plays soccer and has her second concussion currently which she got from heading a soccer ball which is a “normal soccer skill.” Her doctor estimated a six-month recovery period from her concussion that she got in October.

“The hardest part of having a concussion is being around people who have never had a concussion and don’t understand how often and easy it is to trigger a headache,” said Clark. “Friends always ask to do something that involves exercise or activity that I can’t partake in. Its hard to see other people enjoying activities I’m missing out on that I used to take for granted.”

Many of Clark’s teachers have cut out many assignments and the school has put her on a 504 plan which makes it a lot easier to get work done. She says “it is still extremely hard to keep up with my school work. I’m a few weeks behind my classmates in some of my classes.”  

Goldsmith said that students often won’t take care of their concussions at the beginning of them and it prolongs the concussion. This worries her because she says “you only have one brain.”

Junior Elisabeth Lindholm also has a concussion from soccer. She “took a ball off the head in a soccer game,” and has been dealing with symptoms for a little over three months.

The hardest part about having a concussion, she says, is “understanding that it takes time to heal.” Lindholm says she tried to rush the healing process, and it made her symptoms a lot worse.

Lindholm says she is “slowly making up all of work I’ve missed” but it is hard because “you have all the current schoolwork on top of all the makeup work, so it feels impossible at times.”