Concussion Protocol

The untold story of a little lioness biting off more than she can chew 😵‍💫 when trying to take out a tame, soft-spoken young man- and the consequences of the attempt 🤕

Jump To a section: Then... 🕧 Now... 🕛 The Lioness 👑 Seeing Red 😡 The Onslaught ☠️ The Realization 😥 ER 🚑 Concussion Protocol: Conclusion 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

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Then...

Don't put your hands on him! Don't put your hands on her! How many times have we all heard or said that? As a child growing up in a small town with a sister three years younger than me, she always seemed to be on my nerves. I remember sometimes I was dying to slug her as most young boys felt against their annoying sister. Yes, I got some shots in at her, and needless to say, I had to pay the piper: "You're grounded!" It was the theme in my household for that stuff by my stepfather. He always seemed to throw in the comment, "One day, she is going to turn around and knock you out if you don't keep your hands to yourself!" I would sit there and roll my eyes, thinking, "Yeah, sure, whatever." Haha, I was right; she never got to deck me- but after this weekend, I realized there may have been a reason why I was told by my stepfather "one day..."

Now...

Fast-forward two decades or so, and now I'm the one yelling at my two younger kids similar in age to knock it off and stop hitting each other. Yeah, some stepfather curse, I'm sure. Anyway, my youngest child, Khloé, who is in 7th grade, is a relatively small spitfire living in a house with two older brothers. Unfortunately for them, she has a knack for inserting her female dominance against her two brothers (8th grade and college, respectively), who are easily a foot taller than she is.

The oldest brother, Devan, was not here at the time, which only left the 8th grader, Dylan, for her to tease and poke at. She enjoys trying to get a rise out of Dylan more than Devan, not because he is smaller and closer in age but because he has a relatively tame, quieter personality, making it more difficult for her to get a reaction out of him. But, much like her father, she likes the challenge of the hunt- in the case of the recoil that would get him in trouble.

The Lioness

So the story goes: the little lioness, Khloé, began focusing on her prey. Her mother was on the couch; I was in the shower then. Dylan was cleaning off the island counter between the kitchen and dining room, just out of sight from Mom chilling out doing the TikTok and Facebook thing. The little firecracker knew he was minding his business, trying to finish his chores to return to his free time fun. She would not let him get there so quickly—time to attack.

My little girl casually began loitering in the living room near her mother, making her way to the dining room. After fidgeting with whatever she could find on the dining room table, she slowly crept into the kitchen, knowing her window of opportunity was closing now that Dylan was about done clearing off the island counter. The lioness decided to strike Dylan, the hyena grazing in the kitchen minding its own business, a target that'll give her a fight but one she should easily win. She crept into the kitchen, ever so slyly past him, and at the last second, ambushed him with a swift, sharp forearm directly into the back, causing him to lunge forward.

Seeing Red

Again this lioness wasn't hungry; she was just hungry for a fight. That was her doom. Little did she know this hyena wouldn't take it anymore, and his switch flipped. No longer was he that solo hyena that could handle his own in critical moments, but now he had become a pack of hyenas that could conquer a lion easily. Furthermore, Dylan has obtained the taste of blood; much like in the wild, with lightning-quick reflexes, Dylan sprung into action, and the hunter became the hunted.

He quickly gave her a swift push back, giving the lioness one last chance to retreat so neither would get in trouble with Mom in the other room. Khloé was still hungry for a fight, and nothing would stop her and her primal instinct to torment. Dylan's only thought, as the room filled with red: it was time to put her in her place. It started fast. Shock. Adrenaline. Fear. Anger. Recoil. A victor.

The Onslaught

After giving Khloé that quick pushback, she returned for another attack, slapping him hard, with an echo ringing throughout the upstairs, spiking Mom's attentive ears. The little lioness realized she might have bit off more than she could chew while she caught his dead-lock gaze as this dominant hyena didn't flinch. She began to flee, for what seemed like her life, back to her mother in fear of the big brother.

Adrenaline ravished, Dylan did not even think. He did not care. It was just time to put his sister in her place. He chased her down, now in the living room with Mom watching in horror. He grabbed her arm and spun her around like a rag-doll. Common sense shutting down, Dylan picked her little sister up fireman-carry style, entirely off the ground, and threw her down head first.

The Realization

The red in Dylan's eyes quickly turned to tears as he realized what he just did. She lay there, thankfully conscious but dazed, bewildered, in pain, and confused. She could only ask for ice as her mother flew over to her side, terrified like any mother when their cub's life was in danger.

After settling her down, some time had passed; I had gotten out of the shower by then, giving Dylan the verbal ass-whoopin' he deserved while realizing she still didn't seem right. She was asking questions she should certainly have known the answer to, such as if she cleaned out the car earlier today. Finally, it was time to get her to the hospital.

ER

We arrived at the hospital, and the excellent, attentive staff rushed her for evaluation. Luckily, it was not a severe concussion where a CT scan was required, but she was kept there for a bit to ensure symptoms did not worsen. By 10 pm, we were finally leaving; she was cloudy in the head, everything felt like a dream, and it was difficult to remember much of anything she did- including the incident.

Concussion Protocol: Conclusion

Since then (2 days ago), she has progressively shown signs of getting better, remembering more, improving, and acting more and more like the little spitfire that she is. However, after watching the video that our Nest picked up of the slam, she was in shock, and both kids saw firsthand why we parents say, "Keep your hands off each other." I may have been fortunate not to have to deal with something like this growing up with my sister, but it makes me wonder what could have happened if something had gone slightly wrong.

The lesson I learned from this is yes; siblings will be siblings, they will fight. However, I would be more upset if they didn't give each other a shove occasionally. But when we, as parents, need to put our foot down and say enough is not necessarily when they hit each other or rough house (obviously within reason). Instead, it is that moment when both feet come off the ground. Once any child is airborne without control against gravity, it must be an instant punishment because it could mean life or death in the worst possible circumstance.

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