'I just have to live with it': life-long strain for concussion riddled teen
The first time that Amelie King was concussed, she didn't know it was happening.
After playing a game of school rugby, the then 15-year-old only began to experience symptoms of her injury in the hours that followed.
That was in 2021.
Amelie King has life-long symptoms after experiencing seven concussions since 2021. Picture by Tom Dennis
Amelie King has life-long symptoms after experiencing seven concussions since 2021. Picture by Tom Dennis
Since then, she's been concussed six times while playing sport and a seventh when she bumped into another student at school.
"The first time it happened they were worried about my shoulder because I took my shoulder in the tackle as well," King said.
"A couple hours later I started to feel a bit odd and mum was like, 'oh, you might have a concussion' but we just left it, I had two days off school and I was fine, so I went back to school."
In the three years since, her world has been consumed by the long-term side effects of her continued head trauma.
As she lines up to complete her HSC exams alongside thousands of year 12 students from across the state, she said concussion has changed her life, and not for the better.
She missed most of the second half of year nine due to symptoms and admits that exacerbated symptoms isolated her from her classmates.
Angus Brayshaw's concussion-forced retirement leaves a big gap at Melbourne. Video via AAP.
Most teenagers King's age are considering what career they want to pursue, she was considering what ones were available to her.
Early days she said it was easy to brush off her head injuries, naive to what was ahead of her.
"I didn't really know what the long-term side effects were at that point, so I wasn't too worried," she said.
"After my third concussion I ended up with glass jaw, when you get concussion again really, really easily.
"The recovery was getting longer and I was like 'oh, this is getting a bit scary now'."
When King was first diagnosed, neither her or her parents were really aware of how serious her condition could become.
In 2023 she was referred to a concussion specialist in Canberra after being told by a GP that she would never play sport again.
Amelie King has life-long symptoms after experiencing seven concussions since 2021. Picture by Tom Dennis
Thankfully this was not the case, but the emotional whiplash took a toll.
"He wasn't as worried as I thought he was going to be after my GP at home had told me never to play sport again, but I got some scans and it was all fine," she said.
"It made me so emotional to be told that I couldn't play sport again, I did not want to go back to the doctor after that."
It's now been 12 months since King's last concussion, but she still feels the impact of it every day.
She's easily distracted, has memory issues, and easily becomes confused. She's given up playing rugby union, the risk is just too high, but has been supported to play Australian Rules Football in recent years.
It's a big task for an 18-year-old to accept that her symptoms may be with her for the rest of her life.
"It's kind of annoying to think what could have been, it makes me think should I still be participating in contact sport, but I realised that there is a risk in everything I do," she said.
"I've got them just walking into someone at school, so I just have to take it easy, make sure my fitness and my skill is up to scratch because it's easier to get them when I'm not as fit because I am not as alert.
"It's not great, but I just have to live with it now."
Concussion a 'part of life'
Research Fellow at Curtin University and the Perron Institute, Dr Sarah Hellewell's work focuses on the presence of concussion in children.
While there has been significant growth in the research being conducted on the brain and the impact of concussion on it, she said it's a science still in its infancy.
She said finding the balance between protecting children, and their brains, without depriving them of sport is important.
Being careful to avoid fear mongering is key. Instead of banning contact among children, she recommends being proactive in reducing risk.
"In terms of concussion, there's not that much we can do to stop them from happening," Dr Hellewell said.
"We don't want people to stop playing sports, we're not saying sports are bad and we should all live in a cocoon because there's so many benefits of playing sports especially for kids.
"What we can do is things like reducing the number of tackles that kids have, we can try and train them to tackle in a more safe way, which we are already doing."
Overseas, kids playing some sports like rugby are not allowed to tackle until they are 14.
"If they don't have concussion from sport, they might trip over in the backyard, they're going to fall, concussion just happens," Dr Hellewell said.
"It's a part of life. One in five people will have a concussion in their lifetime so it's actually probably much more common than most people think."
Amelie King, left, has returned to contact sport since her last concussion in 2023. Picture by Les Smith
Not only is the brain still largely a mystery to scientists, Dr Hellewell said the path to recovery can also vary greatly from patient to patient.
One brain may take two weeks to recover while another may take two years.
She said the best ways to help track brain recovery at the community level is to educate coaches, parents, and trainers on what concussion looks like so they can act accordingly.
Introducing base-line tests at the beginning of the sport season for all athletes is also high on her list of recommendations. This testing can provide doctors and parents with a greater understanding of if a child is concussion affected.
A staggered approach to return to play, school, and sport is also essential Dr Hellewell said.
Community level embraces safety changes
Three seasons ago Group Nine delayed the start of tackling for junior rugby league players in a bid to both increase involvement and create a generation of safer players.
One of the first competitions in the state to do so, NSW Rugby League Bidgee region manager James Smart said it has had a positive impact on their junior competition.
Players in the under-six age group do not have any contact in their games while under-sevens cannot tackle until they have completed the NRL's TackleReady program.
In addition to requiring clubs to utilise the program, the sport has also implemented mandatory helmets for junior players.
Though there is conflicting information on their effectiveness, Smart said he is proud to see the sport on the front foot in protecting players.
But player protection is a group effort and requires parents, coaches, and trainers to all be aware of what is happening on the field.
"They know what our expectations are and how they can best protect their players," Smart said.
"That helps all our parents get a better understanding of the commitment our game is making to the safety of all participants."
NSW Rugby League Bidgee region manager James Smart says local clubs have been accepting of safeguards for their children.
Acknowledging that change can bring apprehension, Smart said that overall parents have been welcoming on the changes and see they have not changed the game.
He said the programs are multifaceted and allowed children to ease into the sport and protect their entire bodies, not just their heads.
Aspects of the program have also been used in older teams, especially girl's teams where players may not have had exposure to full-contact sport before.
While King has returned to contact sport now, she wouldn't have without the support of her doctor, parents, and club. Knowing there is an increased awareness of the issue among local sporting communities makes her feel safer taking the field.
"I think it's really, really, really important because if you don't know what to look for and if you don't know how a concussion works, it can be really unfortunate for the kid who has to go through and deal with it, and end up with side effects if it's not treated properly," she said.