Most of us are familiar with the symptoms of a concussion but what if those symptoms don't go away?
A concussion can be challenging and the symptoms can be persistent.
Emmaus high school student Kayla Danubio found that out the hard way.
"We had a big game of kick ball and me and my dad were running and we ran into each other and then I smacked my head off the ground and I passed out," says Kayla.
That was two years ago.
While Kayla and her family thought she was okay, Kayla's symptoms got worse. She missed almost an entire year of school.
"I've had really bad eye pain. I couldn't look at the board and my paper without having blurry vision, so I'm wearing bifocals now to try and make the vision part better," says Kayla.
Kayla is a familiar visitor at the Neuro-rehabiliation program at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital in Allentown.
She found the help she needed there after her concussion symptoms didn't go away with the traditional recovery advice.
"I was just staying at home not using the TV and the computer and I wasn't at school and it still wasn't getting better. Then I started therapy."
Director of Neuro-rehabilitation Sue Golden, says Good Shepherd has designed a concussion management program for people like Kayla, whose symptoms interfere with daily life and don’t seem to go away with rest and time.
"Everybody thinks it's one problem but it's not. It's a multi-sensory issue that's usually stopping them from getting better," says Sue.
The program involves a mix of treatments including physical, speech, occupational and vision therapies.
The treatment is tailored to each patient but begins with managing the concussion headache.
"Because when you have a headache, you can't think clearly. You're sensitive to light so all the other therapies aren't as effective," says Sue.
Sue explains that this program is designed to provide the right therapy at the right time for people like Kayla, who struggle for months and sometimes years to get their lives back.
"It was very frustrating because I was isolated. I had my family at home and that's basically it because when I wasn't at school, people stopped talking to me."
Program organizers say the treatment plan is constantly changing based on the patient’s progress and challenges.
Kayla says she is doing great now and looking forward to her future.
from 69News:Home http://ift.tt/1rMAN7L
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