Ok, now that I have your attention, I will present a brief history of my experiences with what is referred to as “Closed Head Injury” or TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) . We are all aware of the common concussion. The football player that gets hit and gets taken off the field or the boxer that gets the same. Usually our brains reset and we recover quite well. It’s the repeated effects of this trauma that in time, causes us to lose brain cells, become demented or worse. Remember I am a story-teller, not an over-educated person trying to impress you with my knowledge, so when in doubt, consult your medical professional, not some stupid old Paramedic, Firefighter, Ski Patroller, Physician Assistant Raconteur.
Blows to the side of the head are typically more hazardous. Why? The skull, melon, noggin 1s much thinner there. To understand more clearly I present my not-to-scientific, keep- it-simple stupid way of explaining how our brains keep us upright with the lights on.
Our melon is happiest when surrounded in a warm, say 98.6 degree environment. It actually is somewhat suspended in a cerebrospinal fluid encased by 3 very thin layers. One layer is on the outside connected mostly to the inner side of the skull. The next layers separate the fluids, blood vessels and nutrients to keep us conscious. We can survive having the brain slosh around in this comfy setup, but not severe blows to the noggin or sudden deceleration or acceleration; that’s when we “pass out” You have heard the saying it’s not the fall that hurts, it’s that sudden stop. Well, that’s what happens when our skull gets rattled. It literally bangs around inside the cranial vault, skull, melon or brain pan. It’s that rattling around inside the vault that gives us the headaches, vision disturbances (seeing double) nausea and vomitting.
Now’s the interesting part. Confusion, which end is up? Altered level of consciousness. Call it what you want. Our brains need to reset. Similar to control-alt-delete. Maybe a headache, nausea, vomitting or more commonly perseveration (fancy word for repeating the same statements over and over). But Steve, what do we do? Well, always call someone with more expertise than you, 911 or at least an evaluation…The key to these types of events is to make sure someone is around to watch the person for at least a day. If the problems lessen, you are typically out of the woods, but if they persist or worsen, get in for that all important CT scan.
Life threatening stuff: Falls, Crashes, Wounds…I’ve Seen them all…
In my earlier days as a Firefighter this was a part of the job. Prior to the days of airbags. So many lost lives due to high impact rapid deceleration accidents. Not to mention the bodily trauma otherwise, the human brain when not cushioned, will not survive. Those connecting blood vessels and the nourishing cushy environment is upended and the brain will die if enough damage occurs. Many times, bleeding occurs to the extent that much pressure is trapped inside the vault which pressurizes an area that simply wasn’t set up for it. You see, when we are young our skull expands and allows room for growth but once we reach adulthood (and start to do stupid risky stuff) our skull is solid and cannot tolerate pressure. Thankfully, air bags have become commonplace and have helped to reduce that sudden stop when the brain goes for a ride. And please wear a seatbelt so you and your squash don’t get tossed out of the vehicle; this is usually a death sentence.
Yeah, I know, I have to get my pic in again but the reason we all finally got smart about helmets was because when I was ski patrolling, the numbers of concussions were impressive. Most like the earlier described perseveration and headache. Most folks could spend their day in the Patrol room until we were satisfied they had recovered and had a ride home. In the more serious cases of collision with a tree, rock cliff, other skier, well you get it, things didn’t work out as well. Call in Airlift. Today’s helmets include a feature (if you’re willing to pay for it) called MIPS. It is a design that allows subtle movement inside the hard shell of the helmet to slow that “sudden stop”. I’ve been wearing one every trip since the last century. Don’t spare the dollars on a good set of boots and a great brain bucket. If your feet aren’t happy, none of you will be happy.
Blunt force trauma to the head, GSW (gun shot wounds) Open head injury and the list goes on. These serious forms of trauma usually result in our demise. The brain does not do well exposed to the outside elements or if something like a 38 caliber slug moves in. This damage is typically disastrous and is why most of us have living wills to prevent such things as “life support”. Our bodies can live on, the heart may beat and we may continue to breath but not independently without our brains. Conjures images of cryo- storage of bodies waiting to be thawed when there is a cure for a dead brain. Yikes!
Some day perhaps we’ll have a way to prolong our body’s lifespan but it thankfully won’t be during my lifetime, imagine the maintenance. Protect your Vault!