I have only had one concussion in my entire life.

It happened last year and involved my head and a brick fireplace. My boyfriend was carrying me and he tripped over an empty Pepsi box that was left out on the floor.

My friends were outside and saw this entertainment through my window and ran to help.

“Did you drop her?” people asked.

Yes, he did in fact drop me. It was only a slight concussion and I didn“t feel that nauseous because of it. (I have heard this happens quite frequently.)

Anyway, one concussion, I have learned, is no big deal. Two is manageable, depending on the space between getting the first and the second.

However, several concussions, which are pretty easy to receive during a football season, can result in permanent brain damage and a lower IQ. Maybe the old saying actually has some merit â?¦ “Were you dropped on your head last year?”

But how many is too many? Concussions, also called mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI), can be an extremely serious injury. That is in contrast to mine, which was pretty funny.

If someone gets one concussion and then another one in a short time span that did not allow for enough time for the brain to heal, swelling, brain damage or death can result. That is called second impact syndrome.

Also if you get a concussion, you are at a higher risk of receiving another one in your lifetime. With everything else in life there are levels of severity; 1st, 2nd, 3rd degree burns, one, two, three strikes you“re out; bad, good, and great sex. Concussions are no exception.

There are three grades of concussion, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Someone who suffered a Grade 1 concussion could return to play after 15 minutes or less. Someone who suffered multiple Grade 1 concussions could return to play after a week of rest.

For Grade 2, those timetables increase. A Grade 2 concussion would result in sitting out for a week, while multiple Grade 2 concussions would result in sitting out two weeks.

Athletes should sit out for one week if suffering through a Grade 3 concussion that lasted seconds and came with a brief loss of consciousness. For someone who suffered a prolonged loss of consciousness, generally measured in minutes, sitting out two weeks would be appropriate. However, if someone suffered through multiple Grade 3 concussions, they would be recommended to sit out one month or longer, depending on the evaluation of a physician.

Athletes have died from this little head bump that is as common in contact sports. So just be careful, and in the great words of Kenny Rogers, “Know when to fold them, and know when to walk away.”

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