What happened when I banged my head!

Everything stopped! What just happened? My body is frozen. No sounds, no sensation, every thing is numb and quiet, so still, I could have heard a pin drop, in that moment.

What just happened? I was just going to lie down for 10minutes, between appointments, with my feet raised to relax and energise myself. What just happened? Totally unexpected. I hit my head on something hard! Where did that come from? My rebounder! Oh my God! My head starts to hurt and throb. I go upstairs and take, Homeopathic Fossil Remedies, Ophipina10M and an Enchynocorys10M. Feeling a bit dazed I sit on the carpet in front of my Homeopathic remedies, wondering what next.

The door bell rings. I get up and open the door it is my 4.30pm appointment, Homeopathy Follow up. We exchange greetings they come in, Mother and daughter. As we sit down, in readiness to start the consultation I feel I should tell them that I just banged my head, less than 10minutes ago, so just incase I start to keel over that is what it is. They are surprised and offer to reschedule if I’d like to and that it would not be a problem. I explained I had just taken a couple of homeopathic remedies which should kick in so it would be fine. So we continued and the consultation went well and they left.

Next I had an video coaching call with Warren Knight in 10minutes. I repeated the remedies, had a glass of water and logged on in readiness for the video call. The call went well. I did not even mention the bang on my head, I realised afterwards. It was as if it went numb for that time.

When the call finished I felt my head, big time! It was sore and I was feeling a bit spacey. The remedies should have helped to balance this out I felt. I was to be meeting a friend for a walk in half an hour and was not sure what to do. I repeated the remedies, sat on my bed. I felt like going to sleep. The pressure on the front of my head above my eye brows was so heavy and my eyes just wanted to shut. It was taking an effort to keep my eyes open.

My mind was questioning, you’ve just had a bang on the head, should you be sleeping? No one is here, what if you don’t wake up, or if something happens in the night to you. I felt scared. I thought 111, I will call 111 and see what they say. I called 111 and after a bunch of questions, she advised me that I needed to go to Primary care within the next 6 hours. Well it was just coming up to 7pm, so 6 hours would be 1am! She said I best go now. Where? She looked up and found that Teddington Memorial Hospital had a Walk-in that was open until 10pm. I could walk to that I informed her. She said, you need to be with a “responsible adult”. I replied, I lived with a 4 year old cat, does that count? We both laughed. She asked me if there was anyone that could come and be with me. I was meeting a friend for a walk at 7pm I told her and that I could ask my friend to walk me to the hospital. She agreed, that was acceptable.

I texted my friend to ask her to meet me at home and not at the park gate. She came over, I explained and she walked me to the hospital.

Even writing this now it brings tears to my eyes. How scary it can be when I think of being in this situation. Living alone, being an independent and capable woman, but when something like this happens, it can be so scary when one feels vulnerable.

We arrived about 7.45pm I registered and sat waiting. My friend said she’d stay with me. I am so grateful she stayed with me. The walk-in were deferring people who could go else where after 8pm to make sure they saw everyone there by 10pm. I am so grateful we got there before 8pm.

I was seen and advised of all the symptoms that could occur in the in the next couple of days as sometimes there is a delay in concussion symptoms and also what the red flag symptoms are. Should any of the red flag symptoms occur I need to take myself straight to A&E. Additionally she told me that the symptoms usually pass in 4 to 14days and if they continue I should go and see my GP. She also said that I can go to sleep but should be rousable every 6hours, for the next 24hours, to make sure I don’t become unconscious.

As I walked home with my friend I explained this to her. She invited me to sleep over at hers and that she’d wake me up every 6 hours. I just wanted to be home in my own bed in my own surroundings. I feel better at home when I am not well. She appreciated this and said that she will call me every 6 hours and if I don’t answer she will come over. She lives just around the corner. I gave her my spare keys, so that just incase I did not answer the phone she could get into my home.

I called my parents and told them what had happened and they to said to get a taxi to them but that was just too much effort for me, I just wanted to sleep and be at home.

I slept so well and funnily enough woke up to go to the loo five and a half hours later so texted my friend that I was up and now going back to sleep so not to call in 30minutes but in another 6 hours to check I was awake.

The next day I had a couple of appointments and thought I would be ok, so did them. At 3pm I felt wasted, totally exhausted physically and went to sleep and did not wake up until 7pm. I was up for 2hours and then went back to sleep. I had a couple of appointments the following day and thought I would plough through them though I was feeling lousy mentally and physically. I was finding it difficult to concentrate and focus, especially on a screen of any kind.

After my second appointment I broke down. I could not stop crying. I was emotionally and physically spent! I told myself, Dhriti, if you were working for someone you would be signed off sick right now, so sign yourself off sick as you now work for yourself. You are not super woman, take care of you. This was not easy to accept but it was true. I sat down and rescheduled all my appointments for the rest to the week to the next week thinking that 4 days would be plenty of time to rest and recover.

I went to see a chiropractor to make sure my neck and body were in alignment. All was well according to him after a couple of adjustments. I felt better too. I was hoping that resting and this treatment would help me to heal and recover.

I was not hungry, I had lost my appetite, a symptom of concussion, but was making myself eat little and often, smoothies and juices as I was feeling sick pretty much all the time. I did not throw up though, which was good, else I would have had to go to A&E. I had pressure on the front of my head and some on the back. I was physically and mentally fatigued, unable to focus and concentrate on a screen, a book or the TV. I was sleeping 16hours of the 24hours of the day, not waking refreshed for all the sleep I was getting. When I slept I was out like a light.

Funnily enough I was better when out doors. Though I could not do much I was better sitting in the grass in the shade. I could not read or write but I felt better. Less sick, less fatigued, less pressure in my head. So I spent much of the next four days in my garden sitting under the tree with my cat. I occasionally pottered around the garden doing a bit of weeding, dead heading the roses and though the lawn needed mowing I did not have the energy to do that. I literally sat outside and looked at the sky, listened to the birds singing, watered my plants, doing very little if anything. As soon as I would step into the house the symptoms would worsen, it was so bizarre.

I got to Sunday night, six days since the knock on the head, and I realised that I was still not ok to see clients so I rescheduled them to the following week. I felt so guilty. They were all so understanding and lovely, telling me to take care of me and get well and rest as I needed to. I was so frustrated that I had not healed completely as yet.

I managed to get myself to the swimming pool, and it felt so good to be in the water, my head, my body, all the symptoms felt so much better in the water, gently moving in the water. There was something about being in the water that felt so comforting and healing. It is difficult to put into words but it felt so good.

As the swim felt good, I decided to go to Tai Chi a few days later to see how that would be and if I could do that. It was bizarre, while I was doing the Tai Chi my head felt better though my legs were shaking, as the stagnant energy from the shock began moving and coming unstuck. I felt good while I was there. When I came home I was physically so exhausted, just slept for pretty much the rest of the day.

It was bizarre I was able to concentrate on swimming and Tai Chi but not on a screen or book or TV and unable to read!

I felt so frustrated, I had so much to do. I was on a social media course and was behind in the work as as I had been in France on holiday for a week and only returned the day before I banged my head. I felt so silly for banging my head. I was trying to be compassionate with myself, as the self criticism did not help, it increased the pressure on my head.

Two weeks since the bang on the head I still was not right and was feeling the pressure of living alone, working for myself and trying to manage everything. Being in this state and knowing that I needed to start working and deal with the back log, though I just wasn’t able to, was not easy at all.

(The second part of this experience is out tomorrow, at the same time.)