Any Doctors or nurses about? So urgent.

[MelissyMoo]

Hi all.

I’m so sorry but I’m purely posting here for traffic. My 15 year old son was assaulted very badly by a professional boxer (18) at the beginning of this week. He was admitted to hospital and had a CT scan to check for any obvious bleeding. Everything was ok. He was diagnosed with a severe concussion. He has lost about 2 weeks of memory and can’t remember anything at all from the day of the accident. He seemed to be improving but in the last 24hrs he seems to be deteriorating. We were given a list of red flags to look out for but none of this is on there so I don’t know if it’s ok to just keep letting him rest without taking him back to A&E?

• It takes on average about 6 times for him to register me saying his name if I’m right next to him. He is in a complete daze.
• He has no appetite at all and is still very nauseous.
• He cannot sleep.
• He cannot remember things I’ve said to him just an hour or so before.
• He has developed intense anxiety and is very confused.
• Things he started remembering he has now forgotten again.
• He is very pale and lethargic.
• He is extremely sensitive to sunlight.

I called the hospital but they wouldn’t let me speak to anyone. What do I do? Is this all normal post concussion or do I need to take him to A&E?

Please be kind. I’ve never experienced this before and I don’t know what is normal and what isn’t. Thanks so much in advance.

So not to drip feed.. yes the police are involved and we’ve done everything we have had to do so far as we know. We’ve been very vigilant and I’ve been sleeping next to him every night.

Glad your son has a diagnosis and that obviously he's had a serious injury but it is unlikely to be life changing.

I know we all slate the NHS but when we need them they don't let us down x

Glad the news is positive, op.

So pleased to read that positive update. Sending love to you and your boy, hoping he is on the mend as soon as possible.

Glad to hear he was seen and you're both reassured. It must have been v frightening for you both.

I'm so glad to hear your update op. Without wishing to be doom and gloom, always good to be alert to any long-term issues from a traumatic brain injury. Knowledge is power after all. It does sound like he is receiving excellent care now though. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6497183/

So please there wasn’t any blood clots, swelling etc! You did the right thing taking him to A&E. Your boy has been through so much already, it must be so awful for you to see him like this after such a horrible attack.
You sound like a lovely mum, a 14 year old still needs their mum, even at the best of times! Wishing him a quick and full recovery. 🙏🤞

"She talked about this in her first post! Didn't you read it fully before replying?"

No, I didn’t I replied immediately after reading the serious condition her son was in. The rest seemed irrelevant. However, the police will need to be informed/updated this is a very serious assault.

@Lastchancechica

I wouldn't describe police involvement in such a serious matter as 'irrelevant'.

It obviously was relevant to you too, given you asked about the very subject she'd already detailed.

Glad your son is on the mend, what a worrying time for you x

I’m so happy to hear your son is being looked after well by a great hospital team and a great mum. Wishing him a quick recovery and hope you get justice soon

Hi, I had post concussion syndrome after a fall and it lasted 15 months. The symptoms were not as severe that whole time but I struggled with bright lights, tired easily, couldn't stand too much noise and had an underlying nausea the whole time. It eventually faded. So, your son could take a while for everything to disappear and to get back to normal. I can recommend things like acupuncture and supplements if that's the case. I am sorry you're going through this and I hope he gets justice. x

Glad that you have received the care and reassurance that you need. Just a thought, talk to your son's school and make sure that they are aware of the situation and the impact that it may have on his learning for the next year, so that suitable adjustments can be made, especially around exams. I had a similar issue as a child and no one said anything to my parents which meant that they could say nothing to the school.

Wishing him a speedy recovery and a stress free recovery for you.

Really pleased you got him seen again and he'll be ok. All the best in getting justice for him!

Good call taking him to Hospital OP. And thank you for the update. I hope he heals well, physically and mentally & you get justice for him.

Hope he feels better soon! I had a concussion last year and felt bad for a good 5 weeks, was off work and wobbly. As well as the physical effects it is a scary feeling not feeling quite right and that doesn't help with recovery, especially after what he has been through.
Also, as a Radiographer, I would ask for an MRI scan of his head (not as an emergency appointment) if you have follow up appointments as that will show any subtler problems, although the clear CT scan is reassuring and great news!

@MelissyMoo I sent you a PM

Also note that they shouldn't be using screens/phones in the early days post-concussion. Hard to adhere to but please do your best.

I wish you both well

I can’t seem to “reply” to specific posts at the moment but to the pp who talked about people attending their clinic with just sore little toes and IBs. I feel you should be a little careful with this attitude. My relative got turned away from minor injuries because they were near to closing with “just a sore little toe”. He felt really mocked by the professional who spoke to him and they refused to examine him. Luckily he’s a vet so he knew for certain it couldn’t wait. In the time it took him to go through the 111 system a sore toe ended up with a hospital admittance and IV antibiotics. Even with his medical knowledge he ummed and arrhed about whether it could wait till GP open in morning. Especially after he felt mocked.

Thanks again everyone. @MumofLandD unfortunately he has braces so can’t have an MRI. They wanted to do one last night but just couldn’t. I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been through this as well! And to everyone else that has too. It is very scary. Thank you for sharing your personal stories and experiences, it’s really helped me to understand what to expect and how the next few months might look for us. My DH took the day off so I could sleep as long as I needed to. His ongoing treatment is basically just rest, rest and more rest! We’ve already arranged a drastically reduced timetable for him at school. We just had a visit from social services who just wanted to check on him and make sure he is ok. They were really lovely. My DS has ADHD, dyslexia and dyscalculia so I’ve been fighting for his well-being and rights since he was 5 years old, I’m not one to take things lying down and won’t rest until the perpetrators are punished. Again, thank you all for being so kind and caring. You’ve really helped me through such a terrible experience ❤️

@MelissyMoo been thinking of your wee lad, thanks for the update.

I hope the gobshite who hurt him gets struck by lightening. Twice.

Love to DS ❤

I hope you manage to get lots of restorative sleep. Thinking of you and your son. Take care.

It’s interesting people are recommending an MRI. When DH went to hospital following a blow to the head he wasn’t offered any scans! Even after going back a second time. Weeks off work and GP never suggested any follow up either.

St George's do indeed have a fantastic neuro department. I had surgery for a brain tumour there and they were utterly fantastic.
Hope all goes well

@DontBeAPrickDarren thats awful and so negligent! We chose the hospital we did because we know they are so thorough and had the emergency equipment needed to deal with things like this. When my other son was 3 (many moons ago) he fell from his friend’s bunk bed and I took him to our nearest hospital. He was literally bleeding from his ears. They had to transfer him to St George’s because they didn’t have the scanners for the ED. Could that have been the case? Otherwise there are certain criteria that you have to meet to qualify for a scan. My son was vomiting, very confused, repeating himself on a loop and one of his pupils was very sluggish. Did your DH have any of these symptoms? If he did I would definitely have gone to PALS immediately with them refusing to scan. So sorry you had to deal with this, I know from experience how worrying a head injury can be.

@MelissyMoo DH only vomited once but had persistent headache for several weeks and memory issues.

I’ll be totally honest and say he sustained his while doing a hobby and not taking proper precautions so I was less than sympathetic 😬😬 fortunately for him his boss is much nicer than me and he took some time off and had a phased return.

When he went back to the hospital the second time (a week after the injury) and queried whether he should have any kind of scan, they implied if he had a bleed on the brain he wouldn’t have been walking through their doors a second time so there was no point. I think the staff he saw may have been cut from the same unsympathetic cloth as me.

However, it seems with post concussion syndrome time really is a great healer so I hope your DS has a speedy and full recovery. On the emotional side, friends have had great success with EMDR for trauma, but i’m not sure whether that would be appropriate with a concussion in the mix.

Omg poor lad. A&E and make sure you report to the police. The bastard. I do hope your lad makes a speedy recovery x

Thank you so much @MelissyMoo for taking the time to update us all. I am so glad to hear that everything is as it should be, and that you are getting support from the CBIT. I hope that you all managed to get some refreshing sleep. Bless you all xx