A year ago 16 year old Charlie Watt found himself in an ambulance after a series of concussions within a short period of time.

Charlie, who is a keen rugby player, found himself facing ongoing symptoms after experiencing. his third concussion.

He received hospital treatment after experiencing a seizure caused by a fall and was referred to the Concussion Clinic at Royal North Shore Hospital.

The clinic is a multidisciplinary team of professionals providing neurological and neuropsychological assessments for the patient whose concussion is taking longer than 10 days to recover.

Charlie said the staff at the clinic helped him understand the dangers of a concussion which has since made him an advocate for getting treatment for concussions.

“Everyone at the clinic has been really great and have helped me get back to where I was before the injuries,” he said.

As part of his recovery, the clinic recommended that Charlie have some time away from contact sport, which led to him taking up rugby coaching and rowing. 

“Whilst it was initially disappointing, I ended up finding a sport I really like in rowing which is great,” he said.

Charlie’s mother, Annie Watt, said the clinic was extremely thorough which played a big role in helping Charlie on his recovery journey.

“The staff were very thorough, which made me as his parent feel confident that he won’t be back on the field until he was ready,” she said.

“The clinic did a wonderful job in helping Charlie realise how serious his concussions were as well as what he had to do to return to the field.” 

You can find out more about the clinic by visiting www.nslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/Services/Pages/RNSH-Concussion-Clinic.aspx or contacting NSLHD-RNSH-Concussion@health.nsw.gov.au.