{"id":24921,"date":"2023-08-07T09:47:18","date_gmt":"2023-08-07T09:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test11.f5test.in.ua\/personal-stories\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\/"},"modified":"2024-09-17T13:00:50","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T13:00:50","slug":"what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs","status":"publish","type":"stories","link":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/personal-stories\/inspiring-stories\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\/","title":{"rendered":"What you don’t want to hear while battling PCS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted: November 23, 2016\u00a0| Written winter of 2015-16 during Esther’s medical leave<\/strong><\/p>\n

I cannot quantify the number of excruciatingly insensitive things that people have said to me about\u00a0concussion<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS)<\/a>. I am continuously disappointed with the lack of knowledge and education. Even close friends have said shocking things.<\/p>\n

One good friend asked me why I was wearing a soccer jacket when I didn\u2019t play soccer. I didn\u2019t even know how to respond since I had spent so many hours working hard for that team and to be a better soccer player.<\/p>\n

A medical professional at a school told me to go get tested for Lyme disease, anemia, and Mono because it seemed unlikely that I could have concussion symptoms for so long. My concussion doctor laughed, and then politely assured me that it was still post-concussion syndrome. Being told that you don\u2019t have PCS and that you have Mono (basically that you\u2019re lying) is offensive.<\/p>\n

On a day when I left school early with a splitting headache and had to miss a class, I told a friend why I was leaving early: that I needed to go home and take a nap because of the headache. Her response wasn\u2019t \u2018I\u2019m sorry your head is killing you. Feel better!\u2019 but rather \u2018oh my god you\u2019re so lucky!\u2019 because I got to leave school to take a nap. \u00a0This also miffed me\u2014did she not hear the part about the splitting headache?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Unfortunately I hear that I\u2019m \u2018lucky\u2019 very frequently. Using that word to describe my situation seems astonishing. I am told that I am lucky that I don\u2019t have to play a sport at school, but people forget that I loved playing soccer and hockey and would do anything to play again. I am told that I am lucky to have \u201cfree time\u201d in place of sports. All of that \u2018free time\u2019 is spent going to concussion appointments and taking naps since I can\u2019t physically do homework immediately when I get home from school without a rest. I am told that I am lucky to have extended time for testing when I would give anything to complete assignments and tests in the allotted time. Luck is not a word that I would use to describe 1,305 days of headaches, nausea, fatigue, dizziness, vision and hearing issues, and sensitivity to light and noise, combined with the loss of sports. I\u2019ve celebrated three birthdays and three Christmases with headaches. All of that adds up.<\/p>\n

I rarely know how to respond to such ignorant and insensitive statements. They usually catch me by surprise. I think especially with friends, it is important to say something. They\u2019re your friends, the people whom you trust with secrets and want to be with. You deserve better than to hear those things and they deserve to know the truth about what is going on with you.<\/p>\n

There is a lot of misinterpretation of the word \u2018concussion.\u2019 People hear it and think of a short-term injury that isn\u2019t very severe. In my case, concussion and PCS have invaded almost every aspect of my normal life.<\/p>\n

There have been so many times where I wish I had said something when someone said something insensitive. I often find it hard to come up with something reasonable to say. Speak up because even if you have already been offended, you might educate that person and prevent them from saying something like that to the next person.<\/p>\n

One of the nicest things that anyone has said to me during my struggles with post-concussion syndrome came from a boy in my grade, a friend of a friend. He asked me why I wasn\u2019t playing soccer and I told him that I had had a serious concussion and couldn\u2019t play contact sports anymore. He said, \u201cOh my God, I am so sorry. I can\u2019t imagine what it would be like if something happened and I couldn\u2019t play baseball anymore.\u201d Baseball was his favorite sport and it meant so much to me for him to project what had happened to me into his own life and think about how much it would affect him. A moment of empathy goes a long way.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been surprised by how much a nice comment means. If people say nice things it\u2019s usually adults that say I\u2019m strong and that I have handled this gracefully.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s nice to hear that I\u2019m coping with the situation, but it\u2019s sometimes better to hear someone tell you that it sucks or for someone to be able to see how it would affect his or her life. I often don\u2019t want to hear that I\u2019m strong because I\u2019m not always. I don\u2019t want to hear that \u2018it\u2019s ok\u2019 because it\u2019s not. And please don\u2019t tell me again what a great college essay I\u2019ll have, because honestly I would like to write about something else!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted: November 23, 2016\u00a0| Written winter of 2015-16 during Esther’s medical leave I cannot quantify the number of excruciatingly insensitive things that people have said to me about\u00a0concussion\u00a0and\u00a0Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS). I am continuously disappointed with the lack of knowledge and education. Even close friends have said shocking things. One good friend asked me why I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":24898,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"inspiring-stories":[11],"legacy-stories":[],"class_list":["post-24921","stories","type-stories","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","inspiring-stories-pcs"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat you don't want to hear while battling PCS - Concussion Legacy Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/personal-stories\/inspiring-stories\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What you don't want to hear while battling PCS - Concussion Legacy Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Posted: November 23, 2016\u00a0| Written winter of 2015-16 during Esther’s medical leave I cannot quantify the number of excruciatingly insensitive things that people have said to me about\u00a0concussion\u00a0and\u00a0Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS). I am continuously disappointed with the lack of knowledge and education. Even close friends have said shocking things. One good friend asked me why I […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/personal-stories\/inspiring-stories\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Concussion Legacy Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-17T13:00:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Esther-and-Zach.jpg.webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/en-ca\\\/personal-stories\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\\\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/en-ca\\\/personal-stories\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\\\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\\\/\",\"name\":\"What you don't want to hear while battling PCS - Concussion Legacy Foundation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/en-ca\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/en-ca\\\/personal-stories\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\\\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/en-ca\\\/personal-stories\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\\\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/Esther-and-Zach.jpg.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-07T09:47:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-17T13:00:50+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/en-ca\\\/personal-stories\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\\\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/en-ca\\\/personal-stories\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\\\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/en-ca\\\/personal-stories\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\\\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/Esther-and-Zach.jpg.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/Esther-and-Zach.jpg.webp\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/en-ca\\\/personal-stories\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\\\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/en-ca\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/en-ca\\\/stories\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Esther Lovett’s Post-Concussion Syndrome Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/en-ca\\\/personal-stories\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"What you don’t want to hear while battling PCS\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/en-ca\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/en-ca\\\/\",\"name\":\"Concussion Legacy Foundation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/concussionandcte.org\\\/en-ca\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What you don't want to hear while battling PCS - Concussion Legacy Foundation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/personal-stories\/inspiring-stories\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What you don't want to hear while battling PCS - Concussion Legacy Foundation","og_description":"Posted: November 23, 2016\u00a0| Written winter of 2015-16 during Esther’s medical leave I cannot quantify the number of excruciatingly insensitive things that people have said to me about\u00a0concussion\u00a0and\u00a0Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS). I am continuously disappointed with the lack of knowledge and education. Even close friends have said shocking things. One good friend asked me why I […]","og_url":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/personal-stories\/inspiring-stories\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\/","og_site_name":"Concussion Legacy Foundation","article_modified_time":"2024-09-17T13:00:50+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Esther-and-Zach.jpg.webp","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/personal-stories\/inspiring-stories\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\/","url":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/personal-stories\/inspiring-stories\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\/","name":"What you don't want to hear while battling PCS - Concussion Legacy Foundation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/personal-stories\/inspiring-stories\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/personal-stories\/inspiring-stories\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Esther-and-Zach.jpg.webp","datePublished":"2023-08-07T09:47:18+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-17T13:00:50+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/personal-stories\/inspiring-stories\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/personal-stories\/inspiring-stories\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/personal-stories\/inspiring-stories\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Esther-and-Zach.jpg.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Esther-and-Zach.jpg.webp"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/personal-stories\/inspiring-stories\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\/what-you-dont-want-to-hear-while-battling-pcs\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Esther Lovett’s Post-Concussion Syndrome Blog","item":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/personal-stories\/inspiring-stories\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"What you don’t want to hear while battling PCS"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/#website","url":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/","name":"Concussion Legacy Foundation","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/24921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/stories"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/24898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"inspiring-stories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inspiring-stories?post=24921"},{"taxonomy":"legacy-stories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/legacy-stories?post=24921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}