Re: RC: Re: helmet infomation (a bit long)

[Abby Bloxsom <dearab@horsecom.net>]

>
>Hi Karen,
>Check out these web sites.  

Thanks for handling this one, Sue - saved me having to put all of that together. 

IN ADDITION:

I've recently had the misfortune of having to deal with *yet another* reason to wear a real safety helmet EVERY TIME, EVERY RIDE.

My mom rode all her life, and much of the time she wore her "hard hat" because we were told it would protect your head in a fall.  Of course, we all know now that the protection was minimal, and mostly from bruising or skin damage.  It gave no protection from traumatic brain injury.

Over the years, she sustained many, many small (some people call these "minor", but they're not) head injuries (she always rode the rogues, and often came home with bruises and black eyes from head tossing, etc.)  Including a couple of car accidents, a fractured skull, and a kick to the jaw, we count at least 5 real good whacks.  Not all of them included changes of consciousness.

Those who study these things will now tell you that CUMULATIVE head trauma is the key factor in long-term damage, NOT just severity.  They will also tell you that you CAN NOT REPAIR damage to the brain.  Nature has given us ways of retraining neural tissue to compensate for many losses in brain function, but THE DAMAGED TISSUE IS ALREADY GONE, and repeated small injuries over time add up.  The cumulative result is DIMINISHED BRAIN FUNCTION.

Now I'm always the first one to crack jokes about diminished brain function, being affected as I am with both ADD and DIMR, but the reality is not at all funny. The effect for my mom was that she lost significant amounts of her reasoning ability and impulse control, as well as her sense of smell.  Until recently she's been able to manage living on her own, but not without causing us all plenty of worry.  

Keep in mind that all these effects on the brain are IN ADDITION to those that we all worry about as a natural result of aging and declining health.

The Medical Community is still studying the effects of such conditions as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, MS, etc. etc.  They do know quite a bit about stroke, and can pretty closely predict who's likely to be affected by it. Other psychological conditions are related to these, and often follow closely on their heels ...

As I was sitting with my Mom after her most recent stroke (!) she turned her head in my direction (most of her vision is now gone) and said "Why did this happen?  Isn't there something I could have done to prevent it?"  

How does one answer a question like that?

We can't prevent all head injuries, we can't prevent all medical conditions, but for those like Traumatic Brain Injury that we CAN prevent, it seems silly to let vanity or "independence" or "freedom" stand in the way.  When you've lost big chunks of your reality and are looking at spending several years at the end of your life using a walker to get around, having somebody bring you your meals on a tray, only being able to eat the food on the right side of your plate because the food on the left side doesn't exist for you, having somebody else choose your clothes, your home, your medical treatment ... I could go on and on ... now THAT'S loss of freedom.

Every time, every ride.

-Abby


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Abby Bloxsom
ARICP Level III Certified Instructor
Recreational and Distance Riding
dearab@horsecom.net

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