Concussive Questions

Many people would say that I need some sense knocking in to me at times, and I have been feeling recently as if I have actually had something knocked into me, albeit the traces of sense are thin on the ground. Whether it was the ice skating incident or some other random thing, I’ve had concussion-like symptoms the last week to ten days and it is not pleasant.

I had concussion once before when I was about 20 years old. I was working at UPS sorting mail during the university summer break and we played football at lunchtime. I collided with a guy and smashed the back of my head on the grass, and I was left seeing double for several days afterwards. It has been similar this time around but over a longer period of time. Whether it is a concussion I am not sure, but it coincides with another similarly talented hockey player suffering from concussion right now.

Sidney Crosby has been out of action for something like thirty games due to a concussion and that has to be pretty worrying for everybody concerned. First and foremost, it must be a major concern to him and his family. Secondly, he is a massive loss to the Penguins. And in the bigger picture, the NHL must have serious concerns about it. The calls for greater protection for players have increased over the years, but I cannot help but feel that it will take such an injury to a major star like Crosby to force their hands.

I read a fascinating story about the NFL and the potential lockout. It supported the players and their demands for greater support and protection from the league. Life expectancy among the players is ridiculously low with so many early deaths coming from long term damage to the brain. Drugs are another issue but let’s focus on the innocent stuff. A former hockey player also recently died in his forties with similar issues – the kind of head injuries found in former boxers.

It got me randomly thinking. Would you do the thing you love and adore for big money but risking that you may live for 15-20 years less than average? Tough tough question and I do not know how I would answer that. It does not have to be NFL or Hockey, it could be any sport or job with the big money and the low life expectancy. If I could be an Everton legend for twenty years, earning big money, but the likelihood of that activity resulting in me corking it a good twenty years earlier, would I do it? That is a tough call and I do not know.

So many folks go to work every day being pretty unhappy and not looking forward to what they do. The first thought when you get to the office is what you are going to do tonight, and that feeling on a Monday morning when the weekend seems oh so far away is brutal. Would you swap it for big money and doing something you love, but with the serious health risks that go with it?