"Hall Pass" - The Official Ironmen Blog of Ryan Hall

A few weeks ago I took a minor shot to the side of my face while playing against Milwaukee. At the time my bell was rung but like many times before I didn't think too much of it and continued to play. Three weeks later I was still feeling some small side effects. I was having frequent headaches after practice and blinds spots in my vision. To be honest, I have a history of migraines so headaches and vision problems often come and go with me to no avail. Regardless, our athletic trainer insisted on me taking a "concussion impact" test. Now heading into this test I thought I had it in the bag. After all, I have had seven previous concussions and the tests are all usually the same. I attended practice after our loss against Chicago and once it ended I got in the car and followed our trainer up to his school (he's a head athletic trainer at a high school) take the test. The results were less than flattering...

So here we are with a decision. Do I continue to play and put my health in jeopardy or do I take so time off and allow my head to heal. After a long deliberation with both our athletic trainer and coach Namazi we decided it would be in my best interest to take some time off and go on injured reserve. By doing so I have to sit out for either 15 days or 3 games, whichever comes first. Fortunately for me we have three games in only 6 days. After this coming game on Thursday I will take the test again and be reevaluated. From there, we will determine whether or not I can return to the playing field.

So this is where frustration sets in. Any other injury usually requires therapy or some kind of rehabilitation. With concussion the only therapy required is rest. I can not do any physical activity whats-so-ever. I attend practice every day and literally just sit there like a lump of .... I can't even go to the gym to lift or ride the bike to keep my fitness up. For someone that is physically active to just stop cold is hard to say the least. During a time when our team needs to pick it up and go on a run for the championship, I am stuck on the sidelines feeling helpless.

It has been a week now since I took the impact test and I have to admit I have been headache free for almost the entire week. I am sure in hindsight this was the best decision for me but, its never easy to tell any competitor to just sit out and watch. I know our guys will do a great job in the upcoming games and hopefully I can contribute when I get back on the playing field.