Melissa Dehoff • November 26, 2025

A Concussion Changed How I Learn and Taught Me What Resilience Really Means | Opinion

Author

Melissa Dehoff

Date

November 26, 2025

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Article by PennLive: Posted November 26, 2025

Excerpt below:


It was a sunny, cold afternoon in January 2020, when I was in the seventh grade, right before COVID hit. My friends and I were playing catch during recess, laughing the way only kids can— carefree, bright, and full of possibilities.


I reached up to grab the football, but it slipped through my hands. In an instant, happiness turned into excruciating pain. The point of the ball struck my left temple, knocking my glasses to the ground. At that moment, my lens shattered, and so did my world as I knew it.

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