Vim & Vigor - Winter 2012 - Gwinnett Medical Center - (Page 7)

Sport R achel Havens, with more than a decade of team play under her cleats, doesn’t remember a time when she didn’t play soccer. On Nov. 6, 2011, Rachel was playing a game for her club team and looking forward to trying out for the Peachtree Ridge High School squad the spring of her freshman year. To this day, Rachel has little memory of that game or of what followed. “It was an ordinary game,” says Rachel’s mom, Paige Havens, “one like a thousand others. Rachel had a collision and both girls ended up on the ground. When Rachel got up, she was holding her side, but she gave me the wave that means, ‘I’m OK.’ This was only five minutes into the first half, and she played another 35 minutes. None of us sensed anything was wrong.” But she would soon find out that wasn’t the case. “After halftime, when I walked over,” Paige says, “she did not know who I was.” Rachel had a terrible headache, couldn’t see and was lethargic. Paige rushed her to the nearest emergency department, at Gwinnett Medical Center– Duluth. Carlton Buchanan, M.D., was on duty, and ordered a CT (computed tomography) scan, which confirmed that there was no internal bleeding. Like thousands of athletes, Rachel had suffered a concussion. Dr. Buchanan advised Rachel to take pain medication for the headache, and told her to see a specialist as soon as possible. a former soccer player. “That gave me confidence that he really did understand Rachel and could guide us through this,” Paige says. “People are surprised to learn that girls’ soccer has a high rate of concussions, second only to boys’ football,” Dr. Pombo says. “The way to recover from a concussion is to have complete rest—physical and mental. It’s tough to do this when you’re competitive both in your athletics and in your academics. Half of athletes with concussions return to play too soon. “I asked them about Rachel’s recent games,” Dr. Pombo continues, “and we think she might have had a concussion a few months before, and that it had not healed sufficiently. That could be why the November collision, although it looked minor to start with, was so damaging.” Digging Deeper In Dr. Pombo’s office, Rachel partook in the computer-based program ImPACT (Immediate PostConcussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing). When Rachel’s ImPACT results were in, Paige was horrified to learn that the concussion had drastically reduced her honor student’s cognitive level, meaning Rachel’s brain was functioning well below normal. “But Dr. Pombo reassured us,” Paige says. “He said, ‘We’ll get her better.’ ” “My greatest challenge over the next months,” Paige says, “was educating Rachel’s high school teachers.” Although Rachel looked normal, she had a constant headache for 130 days, was extremely sensitive to light, fatigued easily and developed optical migraines, which would take away her ability to read. Using Gwinnett County Public Schools’ Form 504, which lays out academic provisions to help a child who has special needs, whether permanent or temporary, Paige noted everything Dr. Pombo ordered to help Rachel recover. > Vim & Vigor • Wi nter 2012 A SpeciAliSt with A Keen UnDerStAnDing A few days later, Rachel had her first visit with Mathew Pombo, M.D. In addition to being a sports medicine and orthopedic specialist who serves on the GMC Sports Medicine Committee, Dr. Pombo is 7

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Winter 2012 - Gwinnett Medical Center

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2012 - Gwinnett Medical Center
Contents
Phil’s Feature
All in the Family
Good Sport
Because I Said So!
What’s Wrong with This Picture?
The Future Is Now
Everyday Hero
What Does 200 Calories Look Like?
JOHNNY BE GOOD
In the Driver’s Seat
We’ve Got Your Back
Bank on Your Health
Virtual Health
PrimeTime Health
Back on His Feet
Meet the Raineys
Out of the White
Transforming Healthcare

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2012 - Gwinnett Medical Center