Kyle Vogel’s Concussion Story

I am a 23 year old from Oak Ridge, TN and currently attend the United States Military Academy (Army).

Sport	Years Played	Highest Level
Hockey	10+	NCAA DI
Baseball	9	High School

I have had 5 diagnosed concussions and I believe 2 more undiagnosed with my longest recovery being 9-12 months.

Symptoms I experienced through my recovery included headache, “pressure in head”, neck pain, nausea or vomiting, dizziness, balance problems, sensitivity to noise, feeling slowed down, feeling like “in a fog”, don’t feel right, difficulty concentrating, difficulty remembering, fatigue or low energy, confusion, drowsiness, more emotional, irritability, sadness and nervous or anxious.

Emotionally, the most frustrating aspects of my injury/recovery were symptoms from above, uncertainty, not being able to participate in my sport or daily life as I used to and feeling isolated, alone and helpless.

What I Would Have Done Differently

I would have engaged with people more. Not so much trying to talk about how I felt, but just to have that interpersonal connection. As part of my recovery I really shut everyone out. I went home on medical leave and only interacted with my family; we didn’t have friends over because that bothered me, but I wouldn’t even pick up the phone or even invite one person over.

Advice I Would Give To Others

Always be willing to open up. As competitors we don’t want people to know we are broken, but this is unlike any other injury. While you can’t overstep your bounds, and you always have to be listening to your body, you need to communicate what is going on. Talk to people, gain insight, have human interaction. You most likely will not be able to continue everything you were used to doing immediately after your injury, but remain patient and it will come back much faster than if you get frustrated and upset over the changes.

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