Reebok cap

I don’t want to cause a panic. I just want to use this blog as a platform to share information. Ever since I wrote about the Reebok beanie cap that measures the severity of any kind of impact to the head, several folks have written to me about their near-death experiences.

Somehow I feel compelled to share their stories with you. A visit to the ER or a doctor’s office after you’ve experienced a blow to the head (no matter how slight) can save your life. Even though we all disliked it when our parents gave us advice, offer it anyway, to your kids and their kids, because they are more than likely to have this happen.

Here is an email from a friend who experienced a fall and didn’t act on it immediately.

“As someone who survived a subdural hematoma resulting from a fall which caused me to hit my head on the pavement, I completely recommend any kind of head cap that gives you guidance. I walked around for almost two weeks following my accident as the symptoms slowly went from benign to serious, finally causing me to seek medical help. After an MRI, I was immediately put into the hospital and I eventually had an operation to remove a blood clot. This was not a sports injury but I can now understand how something that seems relatively minor can become life threatening. This device can save lives.

“The point I want to underscore is that when you hit your head, you never really know how serious the injury can be. Most people have a tendency to refuse help and take the position that injuries are not serious. It’s often wishful thinking. My guess is that athletes are probably more prone to do this due to their competitive nature. A device that can attach to a helmet and determine the seriousness of a head injury would leave people with no choice but to get help if it was indicated. I just hope that athletic directors get on the bandwagon if the device actually works. With two school-age grandsons very involved in competitive sports, this is an area of concern to me.”

Necks count too. A girlfriend in her early 40s suffered two or three strokes and became comatose and paralyzed due to some kind of trauma to the neck. It took the doctors over a year to determine that the stroke was caused by a ruptured blood vessel in her neck that had been leaking for an undetermined period of time.

My friend doesn’t remember hurting herself, but she is quite active. The doctors gave her several demonstrations of how she might have damaged the neck blood vessels, many of which we have all experienced, including whiplash or neck exercises.

She doesn’t remember a lot of what happened but she does recall periods of intense pain in her neck that lasted for less than a minute in the days leading up to the stroke. A mother of three children under the age of 11, she is better than new now, but it was touch and go for a while. Her immediate trip to the ER, and a doctor friend who happened to be on call, saved her life.

Okay, enough about this topic.