While umpiring a high school baseball game this afternoon, I got hit in the head by a line drive.

I'm lucky to be alive; could have easily killed me. In the milliseconds as it came off the bat, I knew it was going to come close to me. I was standing about 15 feet behind and to the right of the pitcher. If the ball was going 100 mph, it covered the 75 feet to me in less than half a second.

I started to turn and drop; I got my head down enough that, instead of hitting me in the face, it hit my forehead. I never lost consciousness as I went to me hands and knees, although blackness started to creep into my vision. I worked hard to mentally fight off the darkness. Coaches were there in seconds.

Thankfully, a paramedic had just arrived to watch the game. She had her kit with her. Not much she could do but stop the bleeding -- and there was a lot!

My oldest son happened to be working nearby, so he came to the field, then drove me to the hospital, which -- hindsight being 20/20, was stupid; should have called an ambulance. I got right into the ER. Nothing like a head wound or chest pains to eliminate time in the waiting room!

CT scan shows nothing, but as we know, a traumatic brain injury can take a while to manifest itself. Family is watching for signs of problems.

The wound, about 3 inches that had to be closed, took 12 stitches. There's another 2 inches of less severe cuts. Most of my scalp has swelling. I'm sure the bruise will be awesome. (Pictures will follow if anything good develops.)

My partner said the hit sounded like an explosion; he thought I was dead. Oddly, the pain was not bad; on a scale of 1-10, it was a 4 when it happened, by the time we got to the hospital it was a 2. My knee hurts worse than my head does.

Anyway, like we always hear, the end can come at any time, so be sure to hug your loved ones and have your personal accounts (and I don't mean monetary) settled each day.

Wow! glad your okay.

Lee

Good wishes to you, Newsman.

Ouch, good thing you ducked.

Great job on reacting. Now on to other business....Blast do not take this as a challenge

BTW, nice picture.

Might I suggest a helmet.

As far as whacks to the can goes that is a dandy. Gonna leave a mark you can show the grand kids. Mighta been that time you got hit with a baseball. Or might be the time you were chased by a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Grand kids all think grandpa rode a dinosaur so you might as well pull their leg a bit.

Be sure to follow the advice of the neurologist and docs. Take it easy for a time. And watch out for baseballs. Might want to wear a helmet. I lean toward a broad-brimmed lineman's helmet, the brim helps with the Florida sun, but you might go with a King Leonadas for meetings and formal affairs:

http://www.reelcollectibles.co.nz/images/300/300_leonidas_helmet_neca.jpg

Or, for all round protection, for poker, and when your feeling a bit withdrawn:

http://www.walyou.com/blog/2009/01/02/limited-edition-iron-man-helmet-replica/

When you're feeling mean. Great for firing employees and negotiating with vendors:

http://nexus404.com/Blog/2008/03/03/conc...e-modern-vader/

OUCH, that must have hurt.

I took a bad hit in the head a year ago during a snowmobile accident and am still dealing with the effects. A serious brain injury takes a long time to heal completely.

Take care,

Mike

Art, I like the Iron Man Replica the best. And I could wear it when I work behind the plate. Might be hot, though, in summer.

Swamp Donkey, believe me, I'm not going to be doing anything strenuous for a while. The CT scan showed nothing (leaving myself WIDE OPEN for jokes, so go right ahead) but that doesn't mean I'm out of the woods.

The ER staff really wasn't that concerned, which surprised me. So, after reading the paperwork they sent home, I got online and looked up additional information. I'm now sitting around waiting for something to happen. Hopefully, it a long and nonproductive wait.

Good reflexes.

So, I now need to ask, how many times have rehearsed this in your head? I'm willing to bet you've thought about it a few times.

As for helmets... yeah, an Iron Man helmet would limit your visability a lot, hard to see what's going on. Although, the ump is usually blind.