One of the symptoms (or results?) of a concussion is that you don't remember the events very well. (Along with fatigue, nausea, dizziness, headache, slurred words and being a bit slow to answer.)
So, I don't remember exactly what I was trying to do or how it happened but somehow while trying to get out of bed I fell head first into the corner of my sturdy 1970s-era wooden nightstand. Nightstand:1, Carolyn: 0
What I DO remember is that my right ear hurt and that I said something like: "My ear! My ear!" Jeff asked if I wanted ice and went downstairs while I remained in a ball on the floor. Oh! And just now as I'm writing this I remember that Michael, who had just gone to bed, must have overheard all the noise because he came in and awkwardly tried to hug me while I was on the floor. (He's sweet like that.. he always wants to hug anyone he sees in any kind of distress.)
Something I should point out, if you don't already know it, is that I have an unusually high pain tolerance. I have all my dental work done without novacaine. I once had a hernia surgery under only a localized numbing - wide awake. After my last surgery (gastroc recession) they sent me home with two pain medications (oxycodone and something else). I never took any of the prescription stuff, and just took some Tylenol as needed for about a week. (As soon as I could drive I limped over to the Anoka County Sheriff's office and promptly deposited those untouched pain meds in the disposal slot.)
This fall, however, hurt enough to make me cry. That's pretty unusual. Jeff trying to apply ice and look at the spots that were bleeding (behind my ear) hurt even more - so I asked him to skip it and just let me go to bed and go to sleep.
If it had been more serious, that might have been a bad choice, but I did a quick check for any symptoms that would be worrisome enough to warrant a trip to the ER and deduced that the worst it could be would be a concussion. (Sometimes being from a medical family is a good thing.)
I woke up in the morning with a throbbing head, some dried blood in my hair and big bump behind my ear.
End result: I can't sleep on my right side, I can't wear my glasses (the frames touch the lump behind the ear), and I'm pretty queasy and tired--but that hasn't kept me from working or cooking or anything else around the house. It HAS kept me from exercising (no vigorous movement allowed--which isn't a hardship considering I have NO desire to do anything but lay in bed).
I'm not sure how long this lasts (maybe until the lump on my head goes away?) but for a while (especially while I'm dizzy and can't wear my glasses) I think I'll just stay
