I was walking along a street in Milan last Monday, heading to the bar with colleagues for our usual post-lunch coffee. There’s scaffolding on one of the buildings along the way, which was dripping water onto the sidewalk as the weekend’s snow melted. So I stepped under the scaffolding to avoid getting wet. And, exiting the scaffolding at the end, walked right into a horizontal gray steel bar that I completely failed to see, right at forehead level. I hit it so hard my head snapped back and I then banged my nose on the same bar. (I’m sure this looked very funny, but my colleagues were kind enough not to laugh at the time.)
I didn’t pass out or have any other immediate symptoms (not even amnesia, such as I experienced that time I fell off a horse onto my head), though I felt slightly dazed. But I’ve had a bad headache most of every day since then. Now I read:
“Delayed signs and symptoms [of concussion] may include:
- Irritability
- Headaches
- Depression
- Sleep disturbances, including insomnia or difficulty waking
- Fatigue
- Poor concentration
- Trouble with memory
- Getting lost or becoming easily confused
- Increased sensitivity to sounds, lights and distractions
- Loss of sense of taste or smell
- Difficulty with gait or in coordinating use of limbs”
Well, that describes (and explains) most of this week…
