Wakeboarder dies at Horsetooth Res!!

Has this ever happened before?
Should we all be wearing helmets?


http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060726/NEWS01/607260319&SearchID=73251965211160}

Holy crap that is terrible I couldnt imagine

yes we should. More importantly, we should all know cpr and his friends should have been more careful to check to see if he was breathing, proper cpr probably would have saved him. Its a very sad story but at least he went out doing what he loved. If only we all were that lucky. Be careful and pay attention to your riders.

yes, unfortunately it has happened before.

Proper CPR COULD have saved him.

It sounds like his injuries were multiple concussions. He damaged his brain. I'm not sure how CPR would have helped him.

We should be careful before criticizing friends etc at the accident. My guess is that this was what is known as 'second impact syndrome' where a severe concussion is followed closely by another hard hit to the head. Several high school football players have died from this phenomena. CPR would not do anything in this scenario.

I have had several concussions in my life, both with and without helmets (both wake and snowboarding). Hard hits are hard hits and if you are already prone...well, lets just say I haven't tried any tricks since my concussion on June 6 because I don't want to be the next headline in a local paper.

My prayers go out to his family/friends.

You beat me to it J-Rod...I need to quit proofing my work, then it would have been you looking like a copycat

That's cool. You provided valuable details.

Gotcha thinking though don't it J-Rod?

I'd hate it if when I finally got to meet you, you sounded like Thomas Hearns.

I don't understand. The guy said "He probably would have survived if he had taken a week or two to recover from the first fall." The article doesn't exactly state how he died. So does that mean if one of us hit's our head real hard we should just chill out for awhile or else?...

truley sad though...

Here is a link to educate ourselves. Helmets will not always prevent injuries...knowledge is a lot more reliable.

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/18/1676_52250.htm

our pryaers to his family go out from us...
RIP

If you read the article(I know this is asking a lot from some of you people)you would see it says"doctors told her that Newberry was brain dead when he arrived at the hospital and had not had any oxygen for about 20 minutes." If he was given cpr until he arrived at the hospital he posibly could have been treated. All I am saying is that I would do it for my riding buddies and I know they would do the same. I would definately like to know more details. How could C.P.R. save him? I would hate to be on a boat with someone who thinks like that. It definately wouldn't have hurt.

I hear ya Mike. It also said that he appeared to be breathing normally. So there was nothing to prompt CPR.

To address the CPR issue: Even if "proper CPR" had been performed, the closed head injury would have killed him. The article stated that he had a headache from the prior day
}She suspected that Newberry's headache may have been an indication that he suffered a concussion from the "face plant" he took the day before.

Anyway, the intercranial hemmorage would have killed him. But we all need to be careful.

SAD STORY}

Cliff....Yes!

I took two hard blows to the head this week. I shouldn't have been on the water either. Stupid move

NO

Helmet are un-necessary. Its freaking water. People should be riding within their own personal limits.


Sucks to see a fellow rider go down! Peace, Respect!

Beat me too it Erick. Sounds like a possible bleed to me! There should be no debate about the value of Basic First Aid and CPR in our sport. Regardless of what would have been effective here (besides some Mannitol ;-) The more we all know the safer we all are.

RIP
Sorry to the family and friends

It has nothing to do with limits. Hard crashes happen. I've taken two concussions by just slipping up on my easiest tricks.

QUOTE

-NO

Helmet are un-necessary. Its freaking water. People should be riding within their own personal limits. -

That would be like telling people to drive with in their limits, duh thats why they are called accidents....

If you never try new trick and practice you will never advance, and crashing is part of learning....

(Message edited by ghostrider_2 on July 27, 2006)

CPR does not only constitute chest compressions for the heart.
You're forgetting the the AB......airway and breathing. Granted hyperventilation for brain injuries is important and pretty much the non medical world would not have known that.
But when I read ...had not had oxygen for 20 mins... someone was assuming that he was still breathing.

first of all, sad to hear about the young man. our condolences go out to his family and friends.

secondly, i hate to stir this up in this thread, but andy, you have no idea wtf you're talking about. stick to what you know, wakeboarding, not whether a helmet can help or not.

Condolences to his family and friends. God, this is just like the girl that died from her face plant at wakeboard camp. This is crazy.

What are concussions like? I was out yesterday and after riding, I had a really bad headache but it started before I took any hard crashes, at one point I felt like I wanted to throw up. Slept for 2 hours and it was gone?

im tired of hearing these stories.. i couldnt imagine the poor families of these young kids who have passed lately... ill be saying a prayer for all of them...


"secondly, i hate to stir this up in this thread, but andy, you have no idea wtf you're talking about. stick to what you know, wakeboarding, not whether a helmet can help or not."

JOE-dude you having a bad day or what? a fellow wakeboarder has passed away and your gonna flame some guy for posting his opinion... its the internet you can find a diff opinion for everything... relax!

(Message edited by mendo247 on July 27, 2006)

Everybody needs to calm down. An opinion is an opinion sorry i voiced mine.

Actually I apologize for posting anything at ALL. THAT is the dumbest thing that I have ever posted. I am truely sorry.

My condolences go out to Alex's family and friends. I've ridden at Horsetooth several times this summer. I think the point, for me at least, to take away from this is to pay attention to your body when it's trying to tell you something. I don't know if CPR would have helped him or not, but it's a shame his friends didn't know how to assess Alex, because I'm guessing that they are feeling tremendous guilt right now and probably feel like they failed him. Like the girl who died wakeboarding a couple weeks ago, praise to Alex for donating his organs so that other families don't have to feel what his family is feeling now. I think that's a brave commitment. As for Andy and Joe - I think Andy is entitled to his opinion and shouldn't apologize for stating it, but I think Joe was just stating his as well. Play nice. RIP Alex.

sorry for snappin' at you andy. sorry to those i offended in this thread.

Concussions usually occur after some type of traumatic event Tyler, they can feel very different to each person but in my case and many others, usually you feel very tired after the event then a bit of a headache, Some people throw up, some people have visual disturbances but in your case if you were experiencing fatigue and a headache prior to any falls I don't think its a concussion :-) A bit of advice to any who don't know...it’s not smart to sleep for an extended period of time after rattling your melon. I have had many bad wrecks in my days of racing and a couple of times I would have paid my family, girlfriends, or doctors to just let me sleep but its not a good idea. Not trying to hijack just wanted to share my 2cents...I think its the most unselfish, awesome thing that Alex as well as the girl a few weeks back could have wanted, by being donors!!!

Sorry also Andy, sometimes we post with re-reading what we wrote and it just all comes out wrong.

That's sad.. Condolenses to the family.

Loren (helix_rider), that's a great article, thanks for that link.

I am glad we all made nice. My lady said, wft are you posting. Telling people not to wear helmets?? Thats the last thing that I would ever do, especially because I rep protec gear. I will keep my stupid opinions to myself. Thanks Ya'll for understaning that I am retarded from Time to Time.

First Off - My condolonces to his famly & friends....


Unfortunately concussions are a part of wakeboaring ( most sports ) & it is best to pay attention to your body - agreed. I have had 2, one ok & the other pretty bad / serious.

Back in 02 I had a sever stage 2 concussion, mild stage 3 - including permanenent memory loss, slurred speach & loss of balance. To this day I cannot remember what happend after the fall, the baywatch type rescue from my boys in the boat, lying motionless in the water, the boat ride back to the launch / camp etc... I couldn't even drive home the following day. I refused to go to the ER that night ( stupid move ) but went the following day. My speech was slurred, my reactions were slow, my equalibrium was way off. I was out of work for a week per the Dr. AND recomended / demanded a minimum 30 days off the water & from all contact sports / etc.

It has been discussed here before but the more times you get concussions, the more likely they will get worse and have more serious / chance for long term effects.




INFO / 411 :
What Are the Signs and Symptoms?
The signs of concussion are not always well recognized. And because of that, people may put themselves at risk for another injury - for example, players may return to a game before they should, or a skateboarder may get back on his or her board and continue skating, thinking nothing's wrong. That's a problem, because if the brain hasn't healed properly from a concussion and a person gets another brain injury (even if it's with less force), it can be serious.

Repeated injury to the brain can lead to swelling, and sometimes people develop long-term disabilities, or even die, as a result of serious head injuries. So it's really important to recognize and understand the signals that a person may have a concussion.

Although people think of a concussion as someone losing consciousness (passing out), a person can have a concussion and never lose consciousness.

Symptoms of a concussion may include:

"seeing stars" and feeling dazed, dizzy, or light-headed
trouble remembering things, such as what happened directly before and after the injury occurred (this can happen even with mild concussions)
nausea or vomiting
headaches
blurred vision and sensitivity to light
slurred speech or saying things that don't make sense
difficulty concentrating, thinking, or making decisions
difficulty with coordination or balance (such as being unable to catch a ball or other easy tasks)
feeling anxious or irritable for no apparent reason
feeling overly tired
Different Grades of Concussion
There are different grades of concussion. Someone with a grade 1 concussion can have some of the symptoms listed above, but he or she will not lose consciousness and will feel fine after 15 minutes. With a grade 2 concussion, a person's symptoms will last longer than 15 minutes, but the person will also not lose consciousness. In a grade 3 concussion, the individual loses consciousness - even if it's just for a few seconds.

Knowing the different grades is important because how soon a player can safely return to a sports activity is tied to the grade of concussion he or she has. With a grade 1 concussion, the player can resume play once he or she no longer has symptoms. However, that player should stop play if he or she gets another head injury. A grade 2 concussion requires that a player stop playing and not return to any type of sport or physical activity that could cause a head injury for at least another week. An individual who has a grade 3 concussion should see a doctor as quickly as possible.

What should you do if a friend or teammate has a concussion? Keep an eye on him or her and monitor any signs of concussion. If the symptoms are severe (such as having seizures or a very long period of unconsciousness) or they seem to be getting worse, that's an indication of a serious head injury. Get medical help right away.



Lzy

**Hijack**

If you guys remember Bethany, the girl who died at Carter's Lake in Georgia a couple of weeks ago during wakeboard camp, I got some new info.

It seems that she had a brain aneurysm and it was simply unbelievably bad timing that it happened while wakeboarding, but chances are it would have happened if she was sitting in the boat just as easily (or so I was told). It does not lessen her tragedy in any way, but it should remove a little 'fear' from parents who are considering banning their kids from the water.

Here is a link on aneurysms if you were as ignorant as I was about them.

http://www.brainaneurysm.com/

Thanks for that info Aaron... I had a really bad fall in February, but kept on riding for one more set. I thought it had just been a faceplant until a month ago when I read some info on what was whiplash... I threw up all night after that fall and felt nauseous the next day, but I thought it had been something I ate and didnt make anything of it.

It's important to know all the risks involved with our sport (not only knee injuries or broken bones), how to recognize them and what to do with them.

Maybe wakeworld could have a section on this?? *hint hint*

R.I.P. Alex
My prayers and thoughts are with your family and friends.
God Bless

You can usually take a First Responder or Outdoor Emergency Care course (both are levels below EMT-Basic but above general first aid) thru a local community college and the information is invaluable. Because some symptoms for a concussion can also apply to other disorders, such as stroke, diabetic emergency, heatstroke, etc. It's just always a good idea to have at least a little bit of emergency care knowledge, even if it's just to recognize important symptoms to pass on to people with a higher level of training so they can react more quickly to a situation.

The article said that Alex went out again the next day, and that the boat came back 1/2 hour later. It didn't say if Alex had actually ridden again that day, so it is possible, in fact likely (considering the short time interval) that he had not.

A common result of a head injury is a "swelling of the brain". Just like any other part of your body this swelling can occur considerably after the actual injury. Unfortunately, when the brain swells it becomes a major problem because there isn't any room for it as it is totally encased in the skull.

The "no oxygen for 20 minutes" comment probably refers to the brain. The swelling would have pinched off the blood supply to the brain, even though his lungs and heart continued to function.

Sadly, there is very little that can be done in this situation. There are situations where an emergency room will actually perform surgery to open the skull to relieve the pressure but sometimes even that doesn't work.

There was a really sad case a couple of years ago where a teenage girl was watching a professional hockey game. A wild shot sent the puck into the stands and struck her in the forehead. She was tended to immediatly by paramedics at the arena, and then sent to the hospital for observation. She was awake and coherent the entire time, but later that night her brain started to swell and they couldn't stop it.

Head injuries need to be taken seriously.

A helmet might have saved Alex, but then we all must decide what an acceptable risk is. A lot of lives would be saved if we all wore helmets 24/7. After all, you can hit your head tripping over your shoe laces or in a automobile accident.

My Condolonces to his family & friends. The wakeboarding community has lost a brother.