Casey had been in and out of consciousness since they had got to the hospital, and she knew she had a concussion, the question was how severe. Jill had made sure to stay with her so she was not alone in a hospital in another state.
"Alright Ms. Radcliffe, we've looked at your scans and you've definitely got a concussion. Should take about a week or two to recover from, so that means no soccer. With your blackouts and dizziness, I would suggest not sleeping for the next twelve hours or so unless you have someone watching you, and avoid being on your phone and bright lights the first couple days. I'm assuming you have a medical trainer in your staff?" The doctor explained to her, then looked to Jill.
"Uh yes sir, we've got the best staff there is." She responded with a nod.
"I bet you do. Alright, I'm assuming her parents have been contacted?" He asked, and Jill nodded. "Okay, I'm going to hand you the discharge papers since she isn't exactly in the right of mind to do so, and if there's anything you can't fill out, don't worry about it or see if you can get something out of her. Otherwise, you are free to go. Just don't leave her unattended tonight." He explained, handing Jill a clipboard with papers on it. Casey was still somewhat out of it, so she did not bother trying to ask her questions about things she could not fill in. She did what she could and set it on the nurses station outside the emergency room bay they were in.
"Casey, time to go." She said softly as a nurse rolled in a wheelchair. She woke up with a start, and her head was pounding.
"Why does it feel like I got hit by a train?" She asked, holding her head.
"Because you kinda did. How you feelin'?" Jill asked as she helped the teenager into the wheelchair.
"Like there's rocks in my head." She groaned.
"Well you're not playing anytime soon. You can stay with us the remainder of camp, but you will not touch a soccer ball. I'll get someone to stay with you tonight and keep an eye on you." Jill told her, and she nodded.
"How are we getting back to the hotel?" Casey asked as they rolled out of the hospital.
"Don't worry, I'm ahead of you." She said, waving down the Uber that was waiting for them. They got in, Jill helping Casey into the backseat with her and the two of them rode back to the hotel in silence. Casey's head was still spinning, but not as bad as it was at the field. She could finally somewhat focus, and she knew that her time playing with the National Team in this stretch of play.
They arrived at the hotel, Jill getting off the phone with someone as they got out of the car, and Casey was glad that the sun was not as bright as it was. She already had a shiner from the elbow to the face, and that was painful enough. They went into the hotel and Casey rubbed her eyes.
"Casey, we're gonna break down the game. They're already in there and I've advised the staff to keep them quieter than they usually are, as to not trigger your concussion in any way. You good?" Jill explained to her, and she nodded. Casey followed Jill into the dining hall where everyone was gathered, and a hush fell over the lot of them. She went to where she had been sitting all week with Kelley, Emily, Alex, and Megan. They all silently crowded her, and she made sure they knew she was alright.
"Alright good evening everyone, sorry for the delay, had a little bump in the road but all is well." She paused, everyone just kind of chuckling. "So, amazing battle today against our rivals to the north. Not as many mistakes as last game, which were not many in the first place. There was some great shifts in the midfield, a lot of grit being put into some play making there, and I love the spark of creativity up top, so kudos to everyone." She paused again before moving on. "Um, if you haven't gathered, Casey is going to be out the rest of camp but she will be staying with us. She's alone in her room, so if someone would be kind enough to stay with her tonight to make sure she's alright. Alex, Kelley, someone who can stay up all night or go in shifts and keep an eye on her." She said, and Alex squeezed Casey's knee as a signal saying she would stay. She nodded and smiled as Jill continued. "Lastly, we've got one more game this week. We'll be flying out to San Diego early tomorrow morning, departure at seven in the morning so we can land around nine-thirty and be at the field around eleven to do a light training, break for lunch, then head to the fitness center in the evening, and we'll go from there. We'll see everyone back here in the lobby around five-thirty packed and ready to go. Have a good evening." She said, finally dismissing them all. Casey remained seated a little longer as they cleared out, the teammates she had been hanging out with for the past week and a half staying with her.
"So a concussion, huh?" Emily asked, and she nodded.
"Yeah, I'm out the rest of the week." She sighed, bummed out. Jill had come over to the group of them to check on Casey.
"Alright, so I don't know what you guys are planning, but I need to know who's staying with Casey so I can adjust training accordingly." Jill said to them, and Alex raised her hand.
"I already told Casey I'd stay with her." She responded, and Jill nodded.
"You call me any time of day if there's any problems, Al. Her parents have been contacted and brought into the loop on everything, so if she asks, just assure her everything's alright. She's stubborn, we'll probably have to restrain her to keep her from training the next half week." Jill stated, and the group of them chuckled, but the comment went over Casey's head as she sat there zoned out.
"Will do. I think she's just gonna pass out and stay out until tomorrow." Alex said, and Jill patted her shoulder before joining the coaching staff to head out to their evening dinner.
"Alright Casey, ready to head upstairs?" Ali asked, and she nodded.
"Can someone call Jackson? The doctor said I'm not allowed on my phone." She questioned as the seven of them made their way to the elevator.
"Yeah, just make sure to unlock your phone." Ashlyn answered, and she did so, handing it over.
"If it locks the password is eight-five-eight-zero." Casey muttered as the elevator dinged, and she winced at the sound. They went up two floors and got off, the seven of them going and hanging in her room for the evening. Casey instantly went for the bed and got under the covers, her eyes burning from drowsiness. The team dwindled out as they realized she was not getting back up, only Alex, Kelley, and Emily remaining. Shortly after it was just the three of them, they called Jackson.
"You're not Casey. Is it that bad?" Jackson asked when he saw the three of them on the other end of the call. Alex flipped the screen so he could see Casey asleep on the bed, then flipped it back.
"She's got a concussion so she's out of it, but she'll be alright. She wanted us to call her because she can't be on her phone." Alex explained to him, and he nodded.
"Well I appreciate it. I watched the game and tried to get a hold of her, but figured she wouldn't be able to respond for a bit." He answered, running his hand through his hair.
"Yeah, she's a little outta commission. She's supposed to stay off her phone, but I wouldn't be surprised if she tried to get a hold of you tomorrow." Emily added in, and they all chuckled.
"Well you guys are about two hours ahead of us and it's about eleven here, so I'm gonna go to bed. Thanks again for calling me, and tell her I'll talk to her soon." Jackson said with a small smile.
"Alright, goodnight Jackson." They all said farewell and hung up, plugging her phone in for her and sitting back on the bed.
"You guys should go, get some sleep before the flight tomorrow." Alex said to them.
"I'll come switch out with you around one if you want." Kelley said, and Alex shook her head.
"Nah it's alright. I drank a five hour energy and I've got a Monster in the fridge. I'll be up until after our first training tomorrow. Go, get some sleep. I'll see you guys in the morning." She responded, beckoning then to go get some shut eye before the flight tomorrow.
—
Casey felt a little better when she was woken up at four-thirty the following morning to get ready to go. Alex had generously packed her things for her, leaving out a pair of soccer shorts, her boyfriend's hoodie, and undergarments for her to change into. Once Casey was in the shower, Alex had left to go get herself freshened up and packed. She came back just as Casey was making sure she had everything together.
"Here, you'll want these when we get into the airport." Alex said, handing Casey her aviators. She took them and pushed them into her hair for later.
"Thanks, and thanks for staying with me last night." She responded as they headed out of her hotel room.
"No need to thank you, Casey. Just teammates looking out for teammates." Alex answered, and the two fell into silence as they reached the lobby floor, meeting the rest of the team to board the bus to the airport.
"Alright ladies let's get loaded up and head to San Diego." Tony announced, and they all eagerly got onto the bus. They were tired but ready to get going and move on to the last leg of their game rotation.
"Casey how are you feeling today?" Jill asked as they boarded the bus.
"Yeah, I'm better than yesterday." She sighed in response.
"Alright, good. Just let us know if you need anything." Her coach answered, and Casey smiled, getting onto the bus and into her seat. Once everything was loaded and everyone was on the bus, they got going toward the airport. Casey's head was pounding now as they hit some bumps in the road, but she was glad she was not nauseous, otherwise things would be quite interesting in a bad way.
Three hours later they touched down in San Diego, and her head was spinning. She was clear to fly, but man she was ready to be on the ground. They arrived at the hotel and had some downtime before they went and loosened up on the field. As much as the rooming assignment wanted to be changed, Alex had convinced Jill that Casey needed to be alone so she had the peace and quiet, and as much as she did still want to change it, she let it be.
Trainings came and went, and as much as Casey wanted to be out there with them, she sat on the sidelines with her sunglasses on being their number one cheerleader all the rest of the week, gearing up for their last game on Saturday against Mexico. It had been one of the longest four days of her life, and she was stubborn in not being able to do much for the first couple days. At this point, she was ready to go home and continue her healing process, which came after the United States got the win against Mexico in five-nil match, Ashlyn and Jane both playing a half of the game. From San Diego they were all flown to their respective states, Ali, Ashlyn, Alex, and Casey catching the flight into Orlando, Florida, where they would head home. This would be the last time Casey ever saw them all, but she had a feeling it would not, and she was looking forward to when she was full time with the National Team. For now she would heal up with her concussion and get cleared to play, then start working toward playing collegiately at Florida State University come August.