Allyson Dubé’s Concussion Story

I am a 16 year old from Rivière-du-loup, Québec.

Sport	Years Played	Highest Level of Competition
Ice Hockey	9	Middle School
Soccer	10+	Middle School
Track & Field	3	Middle School

I have had four diagnosed concussions and one undiagnosed concussions with my longest recovery being 12 months or more.

The Story

I didn’t know about my first concussion so I just continued to do my things normally but after three weeks, I went to the doctor and learned that I had a concussion. The recovery has been long due to the three weeks of waiting [prior to seeing the doctor]. After a few weeks, I remembered what had caused this first concussion; it was during a hockey game when I received a hockey stick right on my head by accident. Two years later I got my second concussion, during hockey again, by hitting somebody else in the middle of the ice, which was kind of a big hit. I didn’t take a long time to recover and restarted with playing sports after one month.

I got my third [concussion] 6 months later, by having a baseball bat on my front on physical education, and I see all my invitations to hockey prospect camps go away. Two months later, I got my fourth and last concussion by training kids during their soccer practice. I accidentally received the ball right on the top of my head. It was at this time that I put an end to my hockey career. These days I no longer play sports, I just go swim once a week and each day I still feel the pain on my head.

What has been the most frustrating aspect of your recovery?

Feeling isolated and alone – feeling like no one understands what you are or were going through.

Advice I Would Give To Others

Take all the time your head needs. I know that it’s not a piece of cake to know that you are missing a lot of practice and games but it needs to be like this if you want to return on the field and play many other games.

Back to other Student-Athlete Concussion Stories.