Pacers Isaiah Jackson on concussion: Throwing up, headaches, light sensitivity
DETROIT — Isaiah Jackson knew as soon as he took an elbow from Boston center Neemias Queta on Dec. 22 that he had a problem and that it was probably a concussion.
Jackson said he also took a hit to the head in a previous game that might have been a concussion but wasn’t sure. But Queta hit him hard twice with elbows, and by the time he got to the locker room in Boston, he knew for sure he had one and he wasn’t going to be playing for awhile.
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“I knew then that I had one and that I should just chill,” Jackson said. “When it happened I went back to the locker room and I was throwing up and stuff and my head was hurting. The next day, it just kept getting worse and worse and worse. It was a process. I didn’t know it was going to be as severe as it was. I thought it was going to be a one- or two-day thing and then I’d be good. But it took a long time.”
It was well into the new year before Jackson was cleared to return to basketball activities and after about a week of conditioning he was cleared to play in Saturday’s game against the Pistons near his home town of Pontiac, Mich. Jackson said he experienced just about every symptom one could expect while dealing with a concussion.
“Headaches,” Jackson said. “Fogginess. My thoughts were foggy. … My symptoms were severe. Light sensitivity. Sound sensitivity. I couldn’t even be around. I was bad. I was literally just in my room the blinds were shut. I had sunglasses on. It was bad.”
Jackson said he’s had about a week and a half to work on conditioning. He said he’s good to play but not 100%.
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“I’m in a good spot,” Jackson said. “I’m not where I was, but I’m getting there.”
Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Isaiah Jackson injury update: Pacers C returns from concussion