On Sunday, February 23, I was in the midst of a mundane task: putting away laundry. A loose piece of blanket binding on the bed had gotten looped around my leg without my realizing it. As I started to walk toward my dresser, the loop basically pulled the rug out from under me. I took a header into the dresser.
My first thought was, “That’s the hardest I’ve ever hit my head.” And then the pain kicked in.
To make a long story short, my husband took me to the ER, where I was diagnosed with a concussion. In a lifetime of playing sports, including risky ones like skiing, I get a concussion in my own bedroom.
The doctor ordered a week of complete brain rest. I was not to watch TV, check email, play video games, or do anything but rest, really. I was dismayed at this news.
As it turned out, though, I really couldn’t do these things anyway. Even forming a complete sentence was challenging those first few days. If someone was talking to me, I had to literally shut my eyes to be able to process what they were saying – any visual stimulus made it impossible to focus on the spoken words.
As the days progressed, things got easier. I was able to read by Friday – thank goodness, as I’d gotten bored with sleeping all the time! By Monday, I was cleared to return to work.
I thought I was in good shape mentally. And yet, I found that doing simple, routine tasks like preparing a report or reviewing Adwords or Google Analytics data was painstakingly slow and difficult. I made a few silly mistakes, too – I caught them before it was too late, but they were mistakes I normally wouldn’t have made.
In short, my brain wasn’t 100%. While I was fine with physical activities like showering and making dinner, I struggled with mental tasks like focusing on PPC.
At that point I realized how dependent we are on brain power in PPC. I knew that my brain was one of my most reliable tools for PPC, and yet I took it for granted.
I know many of you agree. When I polled my Twitter friends about their must-have PPC tools, several of you said “my brain.” (That post is coming, I promise! I’ll update this post with a link when it goes live.) We rely on our ability to think, analyze, reason, and create successful PPC campaigns. And we don’t realize how powerful that brain power is until it’s lost.
Thankfully, after just one day things got better. On Tuesday, my brain worked faster, and I made fewer mistakes. I didn’t get as tired. My brain “muscle” was getting stronger. It came back fast once I was ready. Today, I feel like myself again.
The moral of the story here is that we all need to take a moment and be thankful for our brains. In this profession, they’re our most crucial tool. We don’t use hammers, saws, stethoscopes, or chemistry labs. We rely on our brains. Respect the PPC brain, my friends.
Glad you are OK, Melissa. And I can relate. I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia at the end of last week and have been drugged up ever since. While not quite the same as a concussion (yikes!!!), a medicated state is not conducive to the high level of brain activity our line of work requires. ; )
Wow John, that’s no fun either. I had pneumonia a few years ago and it knocked me out physically for a while. You’re right about the mental state – we need to be at the top of our game every day, so stuff like this really throws us off. Thanks for your kind words!
Wow Melissa and John, so glad that you both are felling at least a little better. Be well.
Thanks James!
ZOMG! Glad it wasn’t worse than it was!
Ditto. Pretty crazy stuff.
Wow, can’t imagine what that must’ve felt like, not being able to rely on your own brain for a week. I’m glad you’re better now…
Thanks! It was weird and scary. Glad to be back. 🙂
Dang girl! Glad you’re feeling better and best wishes on your continued recovery. We all could take this opportunity to appreciate what we’ve been given and stop taking simple things for granted.
Thanks Robert! I agree.
Glad you are bouncing back. How scary! Really makes one stop and think about all the *tools* we use in PPC and life for that matter. Hope you feel 100% soon. And I’m counting my blessings….
Thanks Lisa!
Welcome back, Mel. So glad you’re okay…very scary situation!
Thanks Mike. It really was scary. Concussions are much more serious than they seem.
Hey Mel!
Yikes! My heart stopped a few beats reading this. SO GLAD you are on the mend. Hopefully you are back on your saxophone, too?
Thanks Matt, you remain at the top of my “favorite PPC people” list with your kind words! Doc said to take 2 weeks off from playing – exact words: “I wouldn’t blow anything for a couple weeks.” 😀 You can bet that on Sunday I will be picking up my horn again! You’re the best – thanks!
Glad you are recovering well. I was thinking of you last week & hoping everything was ok, as you don’t usually drop off the face of the earth like that.
Continue to remember that you’re still healing though.
Be well & welcome back:).
Yes Julie, I am reminded daily that I’m not 100%. Earlier today I had to ask a colleague for contact info for a client because I couldn’t locate it. I knew I had it, just couldn’t find it. That’s not like me, so I know I’m still mending. Thank you for your kind words – it’s nice to be missed!
Glad to hear you are doing ok Mel! Had no idea. Hope you’re back to 100% soon. Rest up this weekend!!
Thanks Luke, I will!
Glad you’re well.
I think the moral of the story is live your life and enjoy it while you can (and PPC is a good job, but only a job at the end of that day).