What We Must Learn From the Death of Natasha Richardson

There are two things skiers, snowboarders, and bicyclists must take away from the tragic death of Natasha Richardson, who died yesterday of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) after falling on the snow on a beginner's slope at Canada's Mont Tremblant resort while taking a ski lesson.

1.  Wear a helmet.  Listen, perhaps like you, I used to think wearing a protective helmet while riding a bike or skiing was for nerds.  Then, last December, after not skiing for a few years, I spent a day on the slopes of Gstaad, Switzerland.  When I rented my skis, the guy fitting me for equipment said, "You ought to have a helmet."  "Naw," I said.  But on the slopes I noticed most skiers wore them; at lunch, I watched out the window from a mid-slope restaurant and counted helmets; about two-thirds of skiers wore them.  When I headed to Beaver Creek to ski in January, I bought one.

2. If you ever hit your head in a serious way, get it checked out immediately.  Richardson got up from her spill, declined help, and was in good spirits until an hour or so later when she began to have head pains.  The insidious thing about a TBI is that it can creep up on you.  And when you begin to feel it, your brain may he swollen too badly for assistance.  Seek medical help immediately if you hit your head hard.

The day after I bought my helmet in Colorado (and bought one for my girlfriend and her daughter), I was taking a lesson, and the instructor had the class going down a steep hill with moguls, a hill that was challenging to me.  I fell backwards once and smacked my helmeted head on something beneath the snow.  I remember thinking, "Boy, if I hadn't had this helmet on, that might have hurt." 

A helmet diffuses the impact of a fall and spreads the pressure of a smack over a much wider area.  The unexpected benefit for me as a skier was how warm it kept my head and face, as well. 

The death of a celebrity (left) while taking a beginner's ski lesson on a beginner's slope ought to convince us all that wearing a helmet is the first line of defense against something terrible.