End of a Brief Chapter

In this photo, I am concussed.

Last Saturday, I scored my first try in a rugby game!

And I got my second concussion. In six months.

This second concussion felt worse than the first. I heard ringing in my ears like a gong had gone off in my brain. I went down and stayed down on the ground; I knew exactly what had happened. The official stopped the game and came over to me to see what was wrong. My teammates helped me up and off the field. After 5 or 10 minutes, I lost vision in the left half of my left eye. It was as if I saw the kind of aura you see before you get a migraine. I had a splitting headache, and I started to feel nauseous. My vision cleared up after another 20 minutes or so, and a friend drove me home. On the way back to Jamesport from Kansas City (it's about 80 miles), I asked her to stop at the ER in Cameron. I felt that badly.

The doctor gave me a clean bill of health, but he also said, "Your rugby days are over." So my rugby days are over. Maybe I'll coach or ref.

That puts me in need of a sport! I've decided to sign up for the Shawnee Mission Triathlon again this year. This will be my fifth time for this race. I need something to light a fire under my butt for training. I'm coming back to the triathlon fold!

I also kicked my first conversion in this tournament! Drop goal!