Scary

flippymonkeysmom · #1 01-26-2008, 06:04 AM

My dd really scared me last night. She was at practice last night and wasn't feeling well. Of course she will never concede defeat - so like the little trouper she is she kept going. At the end of practice they were tumbling and she was doing her ro,bhs, back lay out and she somehow spaced out and in the middle of the back lay came straight down onto her neck. She got right up and said she was ok (her coaches weren't - it really scared them too). Anyway - she went right back to doing them. When she got home she ended up being really sick and spent the night throwing up every 20 minutes. I know some kids have fear issues to get over - with her I wish she had some more fear. Shouldn't they know that if they are sick they should take it easy and modify what they work on???? She wasn't fazed at all about the fall - me on the other hand had nightmares all night about her breaking her neck. She has never done something like that before with her tumbling (it is probably her strong point with gymnastics) - but the fact that she doesn't pay attention to how she is feeling and still goes for it scares me. Ok - I just needed to get that out - please excuse my typed rambling.

gymmomntc2e6 · #2 01-26-2008, 07:14 AM

YIKES!!

That would have scared the daylights out of me too!!

Sorry to hear she was up sick all night. I think that sometimes they just love it so much they don't want to stop even when they should.

Ingymmom · #3 01-26-2008, 09:00 AM

oh my goodness! That is scary, - you made sure she did not have a concussion???? That can cause vomiting as well... hopefully she is ok today although, she may be a little sore ...

I was at a meet last weekend and watching the L9's/10's. The same thing happened to a L10 on her final tumbling pass. She slammed down on her head and neck instead of landing on her feet, I did not even know the girl or the team and it freaked me out.... I can't imagine how I would feel if it was one of my own

... then it happened AGAIN the next day at a L6 comp... a girl was doing her RO BHS BT and fell on her head.... both girls were ok, although the L6 was pretty upset.

flippymonkeysmom · #4 01-26-2008, 10:24 AM

Yeah - I was worried about a concussion at first too - but she also has a fever and said she wasn't feeling well the whole practice. Of course my response to that was, "And at what point did you decide that even though you knew you were sick that jumping as high as you could and tumbling around in the air was a good idea???"

She hasn't mentioned being sore today - but since she is still really sick she hasn't gotten out of bed.

gym law mom · #5 01-26-2008, 03:57 PM

First, let me say that I hope she's feeling better and very glad she didn't have a serious injury from her fall. Remember these are children and they don't quite get the correlation between not feeling well and decreased physical ability. Also they think they're "bullet proof." If mine isn't feeling all that well, I go in and tell the coach---I know she won't. Now my gymie comes from a gym where the girls were supposed to "tough it out" and she still is in that mindset at her present gym. I tell the coach she has a cold(or whatever) and to maybe cut back on her reps or if she looks like she's wearing down, then just let her sit the rest of the practice. Sometimes it is just easier to keep them home for a practice and let them get over whatever they have(I know they don't like it, but.....) and get some rest. That way you're not concerned about her trying things she's not up to.

GymKitty · #6 01-26-2008, 05:33 PM

Thank goodness she was OK! I'm sure that was very scary.

As gym law mom wrote in her reply.... I take it upon myself to inform the coaches when my daughter is not feeling 100%. Even when she's just starting to come down with something.

Hope your dd is better soon.

Aussie_coach · #7 01-26-2008, 08:02 PM

That is scary, a coaches worst nightmare is watching a girl do something like that. I would take her to a doctor to get an all clear check after the injury, before returning her to gymnastics. With a head or neck injury the symptoms may not show up straight away and can be strange. The problem is that because she is sick anyway, if there are any symptoms they may be masked by her sickness. A quick check up can't hurt.

A lot of the time these falls are scarier for those watching than those experiencing them. If one of my girls crashes I freak out, but I have landed on my own head before and have found it didn't bother me terribly.

The fact thatshe isn't too bothered about it is a good thing in this case. After a fall like that many gymnasts develop a major fear which can lead at best to them having a block about performing the skill and not be able to do it or at worst cause them to pull out mid air and repeat the injury.

gymnomore · #8 01-27-2008, 07:24 PM

So sorry to hear that happened and I know it must have been frightening for you as well as her coaches. I watched my gymie miss her hand on a bhs on beam at last week's meet and she flopped down to the mat twisting all the way. It was every mother's nightmare during a beam routine and yes, it is very frightening to watch something like that. Luckily, it didn't bother her at all.
Hearing some of you talk about your dd's not wanting to miss practice makes me wonder if there is something wrong with my dd. As much as she loves gymnastics, she loves to take a day off every now and then. I don't think I will ever have a problem with her wanting to go to practice when sick. Hopefully, that's normal for some kids. (Please tell me it is)!
Hope she's feeling better soon!

xstitchcarina · #9 01-28-2008, 01:00 AM

Gosh that is scary. Glad nothing serious happened. Hope she is better soon.

canadiangymmom · #10 01-28-2008, 05:48 AM

Gymnomore,

I think for many girls there's an ebb and flow to it. My daughter has had stretches where nothing would keep her from the gym, usually when she was having a skills blitz. Other times I've seen her visibly relieved when I've forced a day off to relax or join a family gathering. She has friends who are sent to train in place of family time or other occassions, so even though she's not experienced it first hand, she must think it's a possibility.

So in answer to your question, yes! Your daughter is normal, and I think it's a healthy way to approach the sport. Balance is key to happiness