Holland & Usry August 2017

Holland & Usry August 2017

A Wave of Terror DEALING WITH OUR SON’S CONCUSSION

’ve had the chance to represent a number of clients dealing with traumatic brain injuries. While this experience has offered me the

His mother quickly realized something was wrong. Nobody panicked, but we brought him to our spot on the beach to check on him. His uncle Jay, an eye doctor, told us we needed to call a pediatrician. We headed home to give Jack a bath and assess him a little more. I knew it was serious when, during the bath, he struggled to recall the names of his twin siblings. After that, there was no doubt we were heading to the emergency room. I’m no neurologist, but I did know that we needed to keep our boy awake during the 45-minute drive to the hospital. Once there, I told the staff that we were worried about possible bleeding in his brain. Luckily, that wasn’t the case, but the doctors told us he had suffered a concussion. It’s scary stuff, but we were very fortunate. The doctors assured us he would make a full recovery. Recover he has, but it’s been a rough three weeks for him. Throughout the ensuing days and weeks, he’s been dealing with headaches, neck pain, and fatigue. When we’d go out to throw the baseball, he’d grow tired after 10 minutes, and that’s just not Jack. Normally, he’ll wear me out long before his energy slows down at all. Luckily, he was recently fully cleared by doctors. This might’ve been only a brief glimpse into the world of serious brain injuries, but it was more than scary enough for me. Watching Jack’s frustrations was hard, and I’ve learned to never take for granted the most important part of the human body. “Getting your bell rung,” is not a phrase you’ll ever hear me utter again. Brains are irreplaceable, and an injury to them is worth our fullest attention.

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chance to learn a little bit what people going through these injuries and their loved ones have to deal with, it didn’t prepare me for the recent scare in my own household. There’s an old saying that there’s no such thing as a mild surgery, unless it’s someone else’s. Well, after my boy Jack recently suffered a concussion, I can safely say the same is true of head injuries. Ever since we can remember, Jack has been an adventurous boy. When he was 3 and 4, you better believe you had to keep an eye on him at the jungle gym. If you lost him for one second, he wouldn’t be hanging from the monkey bars; he’d be on top of them. Now that he’s 9, he’s developed into quite a coordinated little athlete. We might not be able to safely say he has a future in baseball, but he definitely has a present. With all his energy and vigor, it’s ironic that Jack’s concussion was the result of following his mother’s instructions. We were at the beach with some extended family, and Jack was playing in the water with his cousin. Amy, my wife, asked him to turn around and take a few steps toward the beach, so she could get a picture. As she was about to take the shot, a huge wave crashed down, blindsiding Jack. It hit him with such force that he was upended, hitting his head on the seafloor.

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I knew it was serious when, during the bath, he struggled to recall the names of his twin siblings. After that, there was no doubt we were heading to the emergency room.

–Rob Usry

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Make the Grade! 3 STUDYING HACKS FOR SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS

Are your kids already sweating exams this fall? Fear not! Combine these tips with a regular studying routine, and they’ll be set for anything their teachers assign this year. CHEW ON THIS Not all classrooms allow gum, but those that do offer students a distinct advantage. According to Scientific American, chewing gum increases the flow of oxygen to the areas of your brain responsible for attention and memory. Your student can even coordinate gum flavors with each of their classes. Do they have a biology test coming up? Encourage your student to chew peppermint gum while they study and while they take the test. Their brain will associate the minty flavor with those plant cell organelles they studied for an hour the night before. PROOFREAD WITH GOOGLE Is your child trying to perfect an essay before a midnight deadline? Be sure they leave time to read their essay aloud! Tom Stafford, a psychologist who studies

meaning the change to their relationship. We reviewed medical records and met with his doctor to develop a brief but powerful questionnaire demonstrating damages. Notably, the doctor deemed Ray unable to work again. Ray was a welder at BMW, which provides excellent benefits, strengthening his lost wages claim. DEALING WITH OTHER CLAIMS TO RAY’S MONEY. Fortunately, Ray had health insurance that paid his medical bills. Health insurance needed to be paid back through subrogation. We negotiated a reduced bill for Ray, giving him more money in the end. As Ray is now on Social Security disability, he is eligible for Medicare. Sometimes Medicare demands part of a settlement for future medical bills it pays related to that injury. To protect Ray, we got proof so Medicare would assert no such claim. typos at the University of Sheffield, notes that when we reread our work, “we don’t catch every detail; we’re not like computers or NSA >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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