Scraps of my Life

Natasha Richardson

May 11, 1963 – March 18, 2009

I can’t begin to express my sadness for Ms Richardson’s family.  What a tragic loss!  I pray that her family is able to find peace and comfort over the, very hard, coming weeks and months.

Here is where the PSA comes in.   Ms. Richardson is undergoing an autopsy as I write.  My suspicion is that they find her head injury was violent enough to cause her brain to swell…and with no where to go, parts of her brain started to die, leaving her “brain dead”.

Granted this was an accident.  A spokesperson for the resort where she was skiing said she did not hit anything, she fell, probably hit her head on the ground.  This is called a closed head injury.  The head strikes some thing but the skull remains intact.

I’ve seen, in my personal life, how a closed head and traumatic brain injury can effect a person.  My nephew, over 20 years ago,  hopped onto the back of one of the family horses with his sister.  It was a spur of the moment decision, so he did not have his riding helmet on.  Something spooked the horse, and my nephew got tossed off.  His head hit the ground.  Thankfully my sister had the foresight to get him to the hospital, or they would have lost him.  My nephew, while he survived his injury, has been dealing, daily, with the after effects of the injury ever since.  Regardless of what part of the brain is damaged, the injury is devastating.  Life is never exactly the same again.

How do you prevent these types of injuries?  Helmets!  I get so frustrated seeing young people riding around on bikes, skateboards, scooters, motorcycles, ATVs, etc…without helmets.  As much as they think they are invincible, they aren’t! Once you see the devastation head injuries can cause, you will want everyone in your life to wear a helmet 24/7.  I know that’s not feasible…but it doesn’t keep me from wanting my loved ones safe.

PLEASE, do everything you can to make sure your loved ones wear helmets whenever possible.

Filed under: Family, In Memorium