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Jonah Mchale's junior year of High school was supposed to be different.
Life changing.
He was supposed to win his football championships, get scouted by a first division college team, ace his SATs, go to prom with his long-time girlfriend Nico...
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"Hello-"
My doctor appears from behind a privacy curtain dressed in a white coat and scrubs. His hair is rustled and unkempt, no doubt because his shift probably started 21 hours ago. He stares down at his clipboard, before looking up at me mustering as much cheerfulness into his voice as possible."Jonah- how are you feeling?"
"Crappy." I say honestly, sitting up higher on my bed.
My mom gives me a look, but my doctor just chuckles under his breath as he scans over my medical file. "I wouldn't expect you to feel any different."
He swings the curtain shut beside me, so that the three of us can have some privacy from the busy emergency room surrounding us.
"Hey Shannon."
"Hey." My mom sighs shaking my doctors hand. She works at this hospital as a nurse practitioner in the cardiology unit. He pulls a chair closer to my bed before plopping down beside me. "My names Dr. Meyer, I'm a neurologist, which I think you know."
I nod.
He clears his throat before leaning forwards. "I know you take football really seriously, but you also need to take your health seriously too."
I swallow, my fingers pulling on a loose string on my uniform.
"You're at risk of developing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE. This occurs when athletes, usually football players sustain repetitive brain trauma like concussions. You're also especially at risk because your brain is still developing."
I don't say anything.
"Repeated brain trauma triggers progressive degeneration of the brain tissue, and can cause severe memory loss, Alzheimer's, impaired judgement, depression, parkinsonism, and more." Dr. Meyer looks serious, and I can't help but imagine how many times he's given this same speech before.
"I know." I manage. "I'll try to be safer."
"Yes. Especially since if you sustain another injury while recovering from this concussion, you can be benched from the team permanently."
Rage simmers through my body, but I swallow. I know he's just doing what he thinks is best. He just doesn't understand that playing football is the only thing keeping me sane. The only thing I'm good at. It's my purpose. I'm Jonah McHale, the quarterback. Without football- who am I.
"I've diagnosed you with a grade 3 concussion- which means you'll be out off gym and football for at least three weeks until you recover. I need you to stay off your phone, laptop, tv, refrain from reading or concentrating on something for too long."
"Thank you." I say, with a joyless laugh. "At least I won't have to do any homework."
"That's true." Dr. Meyers chuckles. "Also, Shannon. Tonight, and tomorrow night make sure to check on him while he sleeps every two hours. We don't want him to develop Second Impact Syndrome, so it's crucial that we keep him monitored."
