September 27th is Rowan’s Law Day, and a good reminder to get to know concussion awareness information, and what to do about head injuries. Everyone is responsible in concussion safety.
Rowan’s Law honours the memory of Rowan Stringer - a 17-year-old rugby player from Ottawa. Rowan died tragically in 2013 after experiencing three concussions over the course of six days while playing rugby. She had a concussion but didn’t know her brain needed time to heal. Neither did her parents, teachers or coaches.
The goal of Rowan’s Law is to protect amateur athletes by improving concussion safety on the field of play to help prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future.
RECOGNIZE SYMPTOMS OF A CONCUSSION
A person with a concussion might have any of the signs or symptoms listed below. They might show up right away or hours, or even days later. Just one sign or symptom is enough to suspect a concussion. Most people with a concussion do not lose consciousness.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU SUSPECT A CONCUSSION
Recognize signs and symptoms of a concussion and remove yourself or the athlete from the sport/physical activity, even if you feel OK or they insist they are OK.
Get yourself or the athlete checked out by a physician or nurse practitioner.
Support gradual return to school and sport.
