Niko C. Transcript

Hi, my name is Niko Candido and I’m talking to you about my concussion process and everything I’ve experienced throughout this time. You know, I’ve had a concussion for about a month now. I had one around, I’d say six years ago, senior year of high school. And I, um, got one and knew right away, you know, I saw stars, I saw, um, my vision went blurry. I was nauseous right away and I just knew I had a concussion.

But that one went away in about a couple days to a week, and it just shows how different each concussion can be. This one I got from my friend, and it’s been a little over a month now, and it’s been definitely a process, you know. Um, I’ve learned a lot through it. It happened, and the biggest thing I’d say is, you know, really 48 hours or 72 hours after it happens to really try and rest your brain and recover as much as you can. Because I did not do that. I was pretty naive and just didn’t believe I had one, and it took me around a week to really notice that I had one and symptoms to get worse, and I definitely prolonged this whole experience and concussion more and more. I was just diagnosed with the worst one because of it, and it’s been a longer process, but I’ve learned a lot through it.

You know, after that week or 10 days, I went to the doctor, went through my 48 to 72 hours right away after that, and did that, and it was really tough being in a room. Especially, you know, it’s my senior spring at Wesleyan right now, and everybody’s outside enjoying themselves, you know, having a great time, just relaxing and, you know, school’s almost done just enjoying everybody’s presence and I haven’t been able to do that as much, but I’ve learned a lot throughout the process. What I will say later comes along that line as well. So I went through the 48, 72 hours, and it was—you know, you can’t go out to the bars, you can’t go out to the parties with your friends, especially with a concussion. My biggest symptom was like loud noises and how my brain was triggered through that.

So, you know, that pretty much sums up social events and I wasn’t able to do that. The toughest thing I was battling was really missing out on some of the last times getting to see my friends and being in social places and atmospheres, and just go to parties and have a great time. And I had to realize that treating your brain and making sure it recovers properly is definitely the biggest concern, and that’s what you should do first. And I was okay with that. At the beginning of the process, you know, my friends were super supportive and they really helped me out and were there for me. Then as it got to like one to two weeks, people were like—it’s tough because, you know, there’s this big stigma between concussions of like one to two weeks and then you’re back. Especially me being a football player, you know, everyone gets a concussion and you rest for a week, and then you’re back the next week to play a game. And that’s the whole stigma behind it. So everyone’s like, “Come on dude, it’s just a concussion, like how are you still concussed?”

And that’s nothing about my friends, ’cause they were so nice and so supportive once I explained it to them. But people just don’t realize what really is going on within a concussion. And honestly, frankly, I didn’t notice at all until I experienced it. So it’s really eye-opening to see. It’s crazy to see how concussion symptoms can just linger and really affect your everyday life and make you miss out on things.But it’s a serious problem to know that also that you’re not alone doing it. After talking to a lot of neurologists, doctors, trainers, and other people that have had this experience, they all say it’s so common. And it really is. And it’s tough because, once again, the stigma behind it—the one to two week recovery—you just get in your head a lot. And my biggest thing is I have to get over that timeline of everything—of, “Oh, it’s been two weeks, why am I not better? Should I be worried?”

And I had to realize that it’s normal and that it’s just gonna take time and you gotta breathe and be positive and that it’s all gonna work out. You go through ups and downs because concussions do affect your anxiety and depression, and your mental about it all. You have to be able to try and control it to the max and know that everything is gonna be okay. Because at the end of the day, it’s going to be all right and you’re gonna get through it.

So, I would go on long walks. What’s really cool about it is the first one to two to maybe even three weeks, I had zero sound, zero screens, nothing. And it really allows you to just sit with yourself, sit with your thoughts, and just kind of be alone with yourself. And it was really, really eye-opening to me. It was honestly really fascinating and I loved it. You know, it’s really tough, especially in today’s age to even do that—sit alone with yourself. But it really made me so happy and content with myself and the place that I was at in my life to realize all the amazing things I have, how grateful I am for everything. And it makes me calm down a bit, you know? A lot of music and a lot of shows and a lot of these other things affect your emotions a lot, and being able to just tune it all out and not have any of it and just calm yourself down by going on walks, going on bike rides, the little things—sitting outside, listening to the birds here, as you can hear now, like on nature—it really, really is eye-opening and amazing. It’s been super beneficial to my life, and I’m honestly sort of glad it’s happened. I mean, it sucks, obviously, and it’s a hard thing to go through, especially at a time like this when you’re just trying to enjoy yourself. But honestly, I’ve been very happy with where I’m at and going through it.

You’re always gonna go through phases of being very optimistic and positive like I am right now, and then you’re gonna go through some phases where, you know, it’s been four weeks and you haven’t gotten fully better, and you’re just stressing yourself out. Like for me, it was a timeline. It would be like, “If I don’t go out this weekend, then I’ll be good for next weekend,” and then that next weekend would come and I wouldn’t be okay to go. And then I’d be like, “All right, fine, this weekend so I can go next weekend, then I’ll have four weekends left of college and I’ll just make the most of it.” And then that weekend would come, and I just wouldn’t be able to be ready for it. And it just, you know, stresses you out, bums you out, and you get really down on yourself and you kind of just get stuck in this loop of trying to get yourself pause again, then getting your hopes up and then not meeting that. And then it just slows your recovery because you stress out, you get sad, and that messes with your brain and then your recovery is prolonged and then you keep going through that cycle.

So what I’ve really, really, really realized and really gotten the hang of—and from talking to numerous, numerous people—is everything’s gonna be all right. You’re gonna get over it. And quite frankly, in this moment, everybody that you want in your life should be supportive about it. And they are going to be supportive about it. The brain is so special and it’s so important to take care of. So you need to be able to take care of it. Make sure that—it’s a long-term investment, you know. Years from now, you need to be able to function properly and be happy, frankly. Taking the month or a couple of months or whatever it is, your recovery-wise at this current time is the most important thing. So what I realized is everything’s gonna be okay. This is just a phase of my life. Honestly, it may have happened for a reason. Everything I believe happens for a reason. So it’s kind of sit with myself, relax, and stay positive and really find some new things about myself that I can do. And yeah, pick up new hobbies that you’re able to do. See your friends as much as possible without it, like, affecting your head. Like have lunch outside with your friends, sit outside with your friends. Do your daily activities without bringing stress to your life. And if it starts to hurt, just be like, “Hey, I gotta go,” and everyone will respect it. And you know, don’t get down. Just take a walk, breathe, meditate. What I like to do now is I have a great schedule and routine. I wake up, I don’t look at my phone for the first 30 minutes to an hour. I stretch, brush my teeth with my left hand to activate my brain muscles I don’t use as much, and then I will stretch, make sure my back and neck were okay—because my neck got a little messed up within the process because of whiplash—and then meditate for 10 minutes. Really breathe and start your day and know that everything’s gonna be okay. Go through my day as much as possible. See friends, see—you know, I’m very outgoing and an extrovert, which is really tough for a process like this because, you know, I get energy from talking to friends, talking to people, talking to new people, and being around cool experiences. And, you know, finding different ways to find that happiness and calmness. So yeah, doing the little things. And then I finish my night out with, again, stretch, meditation briefly, and then journal. Just write, talk about what I’m grateful for and, you know, what’s—yeah, everything that I wanna talk about. And then, yeah, call it a night and start the day over again and know that everything’s gonna be all right.

What’s been helpful? I think what was really helpful when I was just kind of sitting there, not being able to look at screens or be around loud voices, was really—taking walks was super, super helpful. Finding new places to take walks, switching it up, you know, seeing nature. I also think that—so going on walks was huge. I would try and read a little bit as much as I could, but really sitting outside and trying to stay with your friends as much as possible without it hurting was huge. I think that people get caught in this thing of just sitting in the room, sitting in the dark, and that doesn’t help at all. It just makes you think more and more and more. But when you are sitting in your room or when you have to take a break, really rest. Also, for me, it was really sleeping in—not setting an alarm and just being able to sleep. And also having transparent conversations with your teachers, coaches, or whoever needs, and just showing them you’re gonna be there when you can. Like for me, I had a Korean drumming class, which was a lot of loud noises. I would come in early and practice with her without sounds, and she saw how committed I was and dedicated. And so it shows that you still care and aren’t just, you know, trying to make excuses. You show people you still care by being transparent. If you can’t do something, you can’t do something.

And then audiobooks were huge. You know, I listened to this one of Matthew McConaughey, which was so awesome. It was about his spiritual guide through life, and it’s called Greenlights. And it was just amazing to kind of sit with yourself, think about it, go on walks, listen to it, sit in your bed, listen to it, and just kind of pass time in a really healthy way. You know, you could pass time and just lay in your bed all day, but if you’re doing it in a healthy way—with learning by yourself, without stressing yourself out—is what really helped me. Because I always want to grow personally and professionally. So it was finding ways to grow and learn without putting extra stress and force on myself.

Advice to others: I would say number one is really—one thing that helped me out was everyone would continue to ask, “When are you gonna be back? When are you gonna be able to drink with them? When are you gonna be able to work out? When are you gonna be able to do everything?”

My Korean drumming class would be like, “Are you gonna be here? We miss you in the class,” stuff like that. And it’s just kind of being transparent and telling them the deal. Being like, “Hey, I don’t think…” Kind of what I started to tell myself—now I’m around three weeks out from graduation—you know, it’s the last bar night, and it’s the last parties. It’s the last sunny days. We have senior week. I kind of just told myself—and the doctor kind of agreed with me—I’m not gonna go to any more bar nights or parties or loud noise things, and being okay with that, and not having this false hope of being able to go. Just being okay. And if I recover and I feel better and I get the chance to go, then it’ll be awesome. But if not, then it’s okay.

But it’s telling your friends that. And then I was like, “Hey, this is the deal. I’m not gonna be able to go to anything else, but I wanna be able to find time and hang out with you guys and make the most of it.” Like go to Miller’s Pond, go to the ocean, go sit outside with minimal music, stuff like that. And yeah, I just think that that’s really important in that sense.

What I really learned from this was that all concussions and experiences—someone said it to me—it’s like a snowflake. All of them are so different, and each of them is different from the other ones. And it’s so true. Not every single one is gonna be similar to the other. If you’re talking to somebody, you could have a different feeling or symptom or something like that. So it’s like not getting lost in what other people think, and kind of just feeling yourself and really diving deep into your mental, and kind of finding that strength within and clarity, and just knowing it’s all gonna work out.

Stay positive and be optimistic. Talk to friends. You know it’s gonna be all right. One big thing I stressed about was—I decided to not take any job offers that I was given, which I worked so hard for. And I decided to go play football for another year in the UK and get my master’s. But when this happened, I thought, “Oh my God, I’m not gonna be able to play football. I’m not gonna be able to get my master’s. I just declined all my offers. My world is crashing.” And it’s realizing that everything happens for a reason. Take a breath. It’s all gonna work out. If I’m meant to go there, I’m meant to go there. And I’m so excited for anything that happens. You gotta stay positive and be excited for anything. Trust and believe and know the future is gonna be all right. Stay present and believe that in the present, you’re doing great. You’re being proactive and staying positive—not just sitting in your room all day.

Really bring back the life and start to incorporate. Like for me, it was starting to incorporate sound into my life again, hanging out into my life again, being around conversations—slowly and slowly. And now I’m at a place where I can listen to music a little louder, hang around a little longer, and so on. So it’s really just—yeah, trust the process and believe it’s all gonna work out and be okay. And I know you guys are going to be great. And yeah—so thank you.