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Gridiron concussion costs Houston Co. teen precious memories

Not speaking up about it can be just as dangerous as the concussion itself.

As a young Houston County middle schooler, Nick Ramirez had so many plans for his future. He enjoyed playing football and other sports. He was a bright kid who excelled in school. He loved his family and his friends.

One hit three years ago on a middle school football field took all of that away.

"From what I remember, I accidentally dropped my head when I went to go snap and the guy in front of me ran right into my head," Nick recalls. "It was a sharp pain that went from my head all the way down to my heels."

That was concussion number one.

Nick didn't want to be taken off the field, so he didn't tell anyone about his debilitating headache, dizziness, and other symptoms. He went to a few more football practices that week and took several more hits to the head before his mom Dawn Ramirez knew something was wrong and took him to the hospital.

A doctor diagnosed him with a severe concussion and told him to rest for the next several days.

"That was the first time he blacked out," says his mother. "He was in the shower and blacked out and hit his head again."

That was concussion number two and the first of many episodes that have continued for nearly three years.

"When I woke up. I didn't know who I was, I didn't know who [my mother] was, my family, I didn't know my birthday, my own name," says Nick.

His mother says that was happening two to three times a day.

She says doctors have only been able to narrow it down to severe narcolepsy, but he continues to go through test after test so doctors can figure out what is happening in his brain and why.

Every night, Nick and his mother sat at their kitchen table reading books and doing math equations meant for kids in the first grade.

"He couldn't read," says his mother. "Math homework, we had to start out with basic addition and subtraction."

Nick is now a sophomore at Northside High School and has made a lot of progress since then, but that can change from day to day.

"It was just the difference between a day when his brain is functioning on all cylinders, as I call it, and a day when it hurt him to even concentrate," says his mother.

Nick had to give up his dreams of playing under the Friday night lights for the Eagles, but he is still on the field playing drums with the football band.

"I can't remember all the notes," he says. "I remember patterns, and that's how I do it, and it works, but it won't always."

For now, he can only focus on what does work. Nick and his mother have found ways to navigate through the daily struggles and the memory loss that often follows Nick's blacking out episodes.

A dry erase board sits outside of Nick's bedroom door. His mother writes where she is, what she's doing, and important phone numbers on it so her son doesn't panic if he loses his memory when she isn't around.

Nick's teachers and classmates have all made adjustments as well to make sure he can get through the school day and maintain the good grades he's capable of.

He's developed new hobbies like fixing up cars, welding, and even skating.

Now, he's even looking forward to going to college, with the help of a four-legged friend.

Teddy the Golden Doodle puppy is in training to become Nick's service dog. When Nick shows signs of passing out, the dog will be able to wake him up and keep him from going completely unresponsive.

The dog and all of its training costs about $15,000. Thanks to a fundraiser set up by the Perry Rotary Club, he now has about half of it. He and his mother are trying to raise the remaining $7,500 through a Gofundme account.

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