October Meeting

The October meeting will be held on the 15th (the third Saturday of the month) from 12:45 pm to 3:00 pm in the Casey Conference Rm at Swedish Hospital's Cherry Hill campus.  We offer moral support and information to families, friends, caregivers and those (of all ages) living with the condition of hydrocephalus.  Feel free to drop in!  Kids are also welcome.

LOCAL FOX NEWS FEATURE ON TBIs & FOOTBALL

The feature on the local Seattle Fox News station was quite interesting.  Locally this has been an issue in the news a lot, with an increasing amount of coverage being given to the research being done at the University of Washington on the subject.  One of the research projects at the UW has evolved into a business, specifically developing a helmet to be used in sports.

The serious approach to the development and implimenation of this helmet is interesting.  But Dr. Ellenbogen and others have also always mentioned that more concussions and other TBIs are acquired through riding bicycles than through football, specifically.  But honestly, ANY activity in life can involve a TBI at some point, some more damaging than others.

I always emphasize education and prevention, because as good as any helmet may be, it isn't the whole answer.  Everyone, parent, child, young adult, adult--needs to have the information and take it seriously.  Part of the problem, in my opionion, is that if someone has no experience with TBIs or the aftermath, they aren't going to come at it with the whole picture of potential issues.  There will always be those who will disregard, or feel they have a balanced point of view,  and those who feel the risks are too much, for them or their loved ones.   It is a personal choice.

I felt that the FOX feature was interesting, thorough and worth the time.

One of the reasons for the attention to this issue locally is the recent loss of Evergreen High School Sr., Kenny Bui, after being injured in a football game.  Our group's prayers and thoughts go out to Kenny Bui's family and friends.

Here We Go Again...

Here we go again, with first responders having no clue about spinal cord or head injuries.  The Baltimore PD now faces hot water, as they should, for the internal decapitation death of one of their citizens because of a total disregard or awareness of such a condition.  Frankly, even EMTs have a difficult time determining an internal decapitation, but the fact is, nothing was done to prevent such an injury and looking at the video, the officers on the scene don't seem to be aware of the possibility of such an injury.

I appreciate the difficulty of their job, but first responders need to have a healthy respect for the spine and brain.  They need to appreciate that injuries to these areas are potentially fatal or could be life altering.  Prevention is the only way to stop the kinds of life altering injuries that take someone from being able to pursue their dreams to someone who's dreams have to be altered to fit a 'new normal' that simply didn't have to happen.

I've seen accounts of two incidents in the last week alone where severe, closed head injury (TBI) has been ignored and first responders have only gone by someone's actions on the surface.  The man who was walking down a Texas highway naked (except for his cowboy hat) had been in a car accident.  It isn't unusual for someone with a traumatic brain injury, particularly a closed head injury, to do things like strip off their clothes.  Or, as apparently happened with the young man in Baltimore, he became agressive.  Both are not uncommon responses to a head injury.  Taking these actions as conscious decisions on the part of the victim(s) only shows how little these folks have, in terms of training.  Piling on top of someone with such an injury can also just make the injury worse.