For some reason, I cannot stop thinking about the tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson.  I know young healthy people die every day from random accidents and I don’t think twice about it.  Yet, I find myself obsessing about this story.

Natasha died from a epidural hematoma, after what was reported to be a benign fall on a beginners ski slope in Canada.  She was with her instructor, and the ski resort followed protocol by escorting her down the hill and calling the paramedics.  The paramedics were turned away when the actress stated she felt fine, laughing and conversing with staff.  An hour later at her hotel, she complained of a headache and felt unwell.  This is when things started to turn for the worse.

Ms. Richardson was taken by ambulance to a hospital 25 miles away from the ski resort. It was here that she had her initial CT scan and needed to be transferred, pronto.  The initial hospital did not have neurosurgeon, so she was again transferred by ambulance to a hospital 50 miles away near Montreal.    From reports, it appears that by the time she arrived at the larger hospital, the brain bleeding and clot formation was do damaging, there was nothing that could be done to save her life.  She was ultimately transferred to a hospital back in New York to be with her family, where they made the decision to take her off life support.

The media was of course all over this story like white on rice.  It was rather sickening to see tabloid headlines declaring her brain dead and dead, before any real confirmations could be made.  What a bunch of vultures.  Medical pundits were everywhere.  Should she have worn a helmet?  Would she have survived if she was in the United States?  Why did they let her turn aware the first set of paramedics?  Why wasn’t she air lifted to the transport hospital instead of taken by ambulance?  Etc, Etc…

I suppose on a personal level,  the reason this story resonates with me so much is that I can relate.  She was a young healthy mom, who had her kids at the same age I had mine.  She was in  a loving marriage with a tight knit family.  My mind keeps going to my own family.  How would they cope if  I suddenly died?  (Happy thoughts, Happy thoughts)

As far as skiing goes, I suck at it.  I have also been skiing on bunny hills with instructors, and have fallen more times than I have actually skied.  Luckily for me, the gravitational force of my ass tends to save me from my head hitting the ground first. If I did fall and hit my head but felt fine afterward, guess what, I would also have refused medical attention.  I probably would have been too embarrassed anyway.

Let’s face it, nurses are the worst patients.  We will take care of everyone else, but not ourselves.  Ignore those aches and pains Florence.  Drag your butt to work attached to an Iron Lung if ya have to.  Get a Z-pack from the resident at the nurses station for that cough, but don’t see a real doctor.

Go ahead medical pundits.  Analyze all you want.  But at the end of the day, a young vibrant mom had a tragic accident.  It is not the first or last time it will happen.  So, hug your kids, have fun, and take care of yourself first.

RR