Dr. Grumpy: "What can I do for you?"
Mr. Scrum: "I'm having memory problems that keep getting worse. I'm concerned they're related to all my head injuries."
Dr. Grumpy: "How many head injuries have you had?"
Mr. Scrum (pulls out paper): "Uh, 24 in the last 15 years, where I've lost consciousness, and a few more where I've only seen stars. My memory seems to get worse with each one."
Dr. Grumpy: "That's a lot of head injuries. How did you get them?"
Mr. Scrum: "I play rugby every weekend. What can I do to stop having head injuries?"
Dr. Grumpy: "Have you considered quitting rugby?"
Mr. Scrum: "Do you think that would help?"
Wow...thick headed rugby players..who'd have thunk it huh? In a region here in New Zealand they are implementing this coming season (for amatuer rugby) a Blue Card;(given like a Red or Yellow Card) which can be given to any player showing signs of concussion.Referees have been given concussion guidelines to follow; and the player must leave the field. He/she cannot return for that game and must be checked by a doctor before being allowed to play again. Hopefully this might stop these guys getting to this stage!
ReplyDeleteIn grad school a friend in my program played rugby with a team and there was quite a bit of this. Luckily, most of them were in the business school, so it didn't make much of a difference.
ReplyDeleteMy cousin only quit playing rugby after his second bilateral retina detachment. Second. BILATERAL. Retina. Detachment. And only because the doctor drilled into his head that there would not be a reattachment after the third.
ReplyDeleteHe coaches now. Love of the game, man. Love of the game.
Not nearly forceful enough Grumpy. Remember this galoot had 24 knockouts in 15 years. Suggest he take a walk through an Alzheimers wing and see if he will be comfortable living there.
ReplyDeleteWhat a simply awful story.
In college, I recall players looking banged up and the saying that "Rugby players eat their young."
ReplyDeleteI was never attracted to the game.
LOL
ReplyDeleteDoesn't matter what you told him. By the time the weekend comes, he'll have forgotten it and be back out on the field.
ReplyDeleteAs Packer observes....NOW would be a good time for this guy to purchase long term care insurance...before he is too symptomatic to get it...cuz his risk of his brain aging much much faster than his body seems significant! and if you add in the effect of ETOH on the nervous system...crystal ball is cloudy
ReplyDelete"The problem with that is that I forgot where my house is, so I just live on the rugby field."
ReplyDeleteReminds me of a dear friend who was a soccer goalie for many years. She only quit playing after her -fourth- surgery to 'fix' the problem... and instead took up martial arts and heavy-duty weight lifting.
ReplyDeleteI see surgery #5 in her future...
Yarnwhore: ROFL
ReplyDeleteIt seems that just considering quitting rugby is enough to make this gent see stars!
If he quits rugby, he'll likely take up an alternative sport, such as hockey or MMA fighting.
ReplyDeleteDuh...
ReplyDeleteOh how I love your blog....
ReplyDeleteWhatever he's doing, heshan adult and can make his own decisions. What's terrible is the kids I see in the ER with concussions whose parents refuse to let them stop playing... despite medical advice.
ReplyDelete