The Pony girls basketball team had just scored against the East Ridge Raptors. Senior Larissa Colvin stood on the Ponies’ side of the court, preparing to defend their basket. The next thing Colvin knew, she was staring at the ceiling of the East Ridge gymnasium.

 Colvin had collided with junior Claire Patterson. Colvin was left with a concussion and Patterson fractured her jaw bone.

 “I just remember as the ball was being passed, I turned my head and I saw Larissa and all I had time to do was turn my head so we wouldn’t hit face-to-face,” said Patterson. “But I knew as soon as I saw her that we were going to collide.”

 The collision left both girls in shock. Colvin does not remember it happening. Patterson’s mouth was full of blood and she felt like her teeth had shifted out of place.

“At first I couldn’t breathe so all I could think about was getting my breath back,” said Patterson. “Then I had to focus on trying to not let the blood out of my mouth.”

 The girls had to sit out the last few minutes of the game. Colvin could not play for the next two weeks.

 “I felt slow,” said Colvin. “I was out of it and I couldn’t concentrate at all. There were two days where I felt really sick to my stomach. I couldn’t watch TV or do homework, I slept the majority of the time.”

 Patterson only had to sit out for one week, but her jaw is still healing. She has to eat soft foods, and she needs to be aware of her injury while she is playing.

 “At first, I was a little less aggressive and scared of getting hit again,” said Patterson. “Now I’m not as much; I forget about it when I play.”

 Colvin’s recovery has not been as smooth. She was able to begin playing again after two weeks when she was fully healed until she got another concussion. It had been less than a month since her very first concussion, and she was injured yet again. Fortunately, the second concussion was not as serious as the first.

“I don’t think the second concussion had anything to do with the first,” said Colvin. “My first one was healed before I got the second one. My trainer is taking extra precaution though, just because it’s my second one in such a short period of time.”

 Unfortunately, Colvin is missing the last few games of her senior year. She has been playing for eight years without any brain injuries, but at the end of her high school career, she got two concussions. Patterson still has another year. Both girls will likely be fully healed soon.