Since suffering two concussions her sophomore year in high school, Kansas University freshman Kylee Bliss, of Overland Park, has created the HeadsUp Foundation to raise awareness about post-concussion syndrome. Bliss, who is no longer able to play contact sports, is organizing a trail run in October which will benefit concussion research.

Kylee Bliss was a sophomore in high school when she suffered her first concussion, during basketball tryouts. Being a teenager, she didn’t follow her doctor’s recommendation of strict bed rest, which included no cellphone. The next day, she convinced her parents she was ready to go back to school.

Her symptoms didn’t improve, but three or four weeks later she decided she was sick of not playing basketball, so she told her doctor and athletic trainer she wasn’t having headaches. They cleared her to play.

During her third game back for Overland Park’s Blue Valley High School, she dove for a loose ball and collided with an opposing player, hitting her head on the floor. Later, while preparing to take the game-tying free throw, she couldn’t even see the rim (not surprisingly, she missed). That second concussion ended her athletic career.

Three years later, Bliss, now a freshman at Kansas University, still suffers from daily headaches, frequent migraines and sensitivity to light and sound. But she’s taking what she learned to try to prevent others from encountering the same fate. Last year, she started the HeadsUp Foundation, which raises awareness about the dangers of post-concussion syndrome in the hopes of stopping other athletes from returning to the court or field too soon. She’s getting ready to host her second annual trail run benefit in October.

“The only reason I’m in this position is because I didn’t know the effects concussions could have,” said Bliss, an 18-year-old pre-med student. “If I can keep one other person from going through the same thing or making the choices I did, it would be worth it. It would be the silver lining of my concussions.”

Post-concussion syndrome a danger for athletes

While athletes are often warned against returning soon after a concussion, they sometimes come back before they’re ready. That puts them at an increased risk for post-concussion syndrome, which is when symptoms continue at least three months after the injury. The symptoms can include headaches, nausea, fatigue, depression, anxiety and memory loss.

“I treat concussions like any other injury. I tell athletes, ‘If you sprained your ankle, you wouldn’t go and run on it the next day,'” said Dr. Michael Rippee, a neurologist with the KU Center for Concussion Management. “You want to treat concussions and head injuries the same way.”

The proceeds from the HeadsUp Foundation’s first trail run, held last fall, were granted to Rippee for a research project about how diets affect post-concussion syndrome. Rippee says he is grateful for Bliss’ support for research because of how little is known about the syndrome.

“Sometimes it’s because patients didn’t get enough brain rest or went back to some physical exertion they weren’t ready for,” he said. “Other times, there’s no specific indicator.”

Lifelong love of sports

Bliss played sports since she was a small child; growing up, she hardly watched anything besides “SportsCenter.” “I was kind of not a girl,” she joked.

She swam and played softball, tennis and golf. But before high school, she decided to give up on those sports to focus her attention on basketball. Which is one reason she wasn’t going to let that first concussion slow her down.

Besides prematurely ending her basketball career, that second blow to the brain changed the teen’s life in other ways. She had to cut down her class load significantly because of problems with focus and concentration. She couldn’t go to concerts or movies with friends because of her light and sound sensitivities. She tried seemingly every medication imaginable for her symptoms.

But she eventually decided to stop feeling sorry for herself and turn her minus into a plus for others. She came home from vestibular therapy one day and told her mother she wanted to start a foundation.

“She just walked in the door, and I saw a smile on her face that I probably hadn’t seen since before the injury,” said her mom, Ginger Bliss. “But I don’t know that either one of us knew how to create a foundation.”

They eventually did, holding their first benefit trail run last November and raising about $12,000.

And while the research that money went for has an eye toward the future, Bliss hopes an immediate impact of her foundation is the awareness it can raise in other athletes. So what would she tell them?

“Don’t lie about your symptoms, because no sport is worth having a headache every day or giving up your brain function,” she said. “You can do a lot without sports, but you can’t do a lot without your brain.”