When
tragedy strikes a family in the public eye, one of the first things
many of us think is “can that happen to me or someone I love?” Part
empathy, part fear, part survival instincts, all those feelings combine
and brings a public tragedy very much home. Case in point, the recent
passing of actress Natasha Richardson.
While hitting the bunny
slopes at a ski resort in Quebec, the 45-year-old actress had a tumble
during a private lesson. She got up, laughed about it and reportedly
refused medical aid. But about an hour later, she fell ill and was
rushed to hospital, eventually succumbing to her injuries from the head
trauma.
This is one of those stories that flashes a great big
bright warning of “this can happen to you, or someone you love!!!”
Especially if you have a clumsy or accident-prone kid around the house.
Kids are is an experts at falling, tripping and bumping into this, that
or the other. What do we generally do? Make sure there isn’t any blood,
give the boo-boo a kiss and then basically brush it off. As the Today
show medical expert said with kid’s head bumps, we all brush them off.
Now, I for one, will be taking these knocks to the noggin more
seriously.
Each year 50,000 people die from head injuries with
over a million each year going to the hospital for treatment. Most
commonly, with a head injury, the result is a minor concussion, which
is generally a “brief or temporary disruption of the brain.” But in
rare cases, like with Richardson, the head trauma can cause bleeding or
swelling of the brain. Sadly, the symptoms aren’t immediately apparent
and the person who fell may be totally lucid and may seem totally fine.
So what should you be on the look out for?
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