The spring air was nice and crisp as senior David Bizzocchi practiced for his upcoming track and field meet. After ten reps of throwing the shot put, the perfect day had seemed to come to an end. David was retrieving a ball he had just thrown when someone called his name. David’s reaction to turn around had turned out to be costly for him this time. A sudden impact to the head knocked him to the ground as he blacked out, all cut up and woozy. A feeling of sorrow overcame him as he realized his season was over. An athlete’s biggest nightmare had come true for David. A series of nausea and frequent headaches followed his incident in the sand pit. A pool of blood rushed out of the cut on his head at the moment of impact, covering his shirt. After he came back to his senses, he was weak and cut up. “I remember the initial hit, and the blood coming from the gash in my head covering my grey shirt, everyone told me coach Murray sat me down and asked me questions, but I don’t remember any of that so I doubt I answered any of them right,” David Bizzocchi said. After a ride to the hospital that seemed to take forever, he had a series of tests to see how bad it was. A terrible CAT scan set off an alarm in the doctor’s head. “He said I could’ve died. The chance of death wasn’t there since I was stable in the hospital, but at the moment of impact it could’ve been worse…much worse,” Bizzocchi said. Concussions can vary from three severities. A grade one is simply a rush of nausea, blurriness and a headache. A grade two concussion can be described as brief memory loss, headaches, and confusion. Both one and two are not connected with unconsciousness in any way. David received a grade three concussion which is defined as brief unconsciousness , frequent headaches, and memory loss. “I had reoccurring headaches for weeks and months. They are all gone now except for the few that every average person gets,” Bizzocchi said. People with concussions usually head to the hospital within the hour for a check up with the doctor. David had a four night stay at the hospital after an early release got recalled. The doctor granted his release then came into the room to find a strange discovery. “I had a pale complexion when the doctor walked into the room. He kept me there for three more days which I wasn’t very happy about. It was for the good of me so I understand why he did it though,” Bizzocchi said. The athletic trainer here at Fraser, Mrs. Van I, has seen many concussions in her years here. All of the sports in the school year have the chance of a concussion happening. “I’ve seen more concussions this year than I have ever before. I’m not sure if it’s because of the awareness and players are just reporting it more or if they are just playing and hitting harder,” athletic trainer Marti VanEenenaam said. Concussions are not completely preventable injuries. If you play a contact sport you can almost count on getting a concussion at some point in your career. If you have the right equipment and the right education on how to use it, you won’t be in as much danger when it comes to concussions. A concussion happens when your brain rattles around in your skull, causing different symptoms. It changes the way your brain works when it is suddenly is moved or jarred in this way. “The problem with concussions is that once you received one your brain doesn’t become 100% again. It will always have a little damage from the initial concussion. You will never get another clean slate,” Mrs. Van I said. The worst part of concussions is that they can decide what happens in the future. A concussion ended David’s football career, but he won’t let it control his plans for the long run. “I was on the football team this year but I couldn’t play. So I went to most of the practices and was still part of the team. I’ll be ready for the shot put again this spring,” Bizzocchi said.