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Old     (ldr)      Join Date: Nov 2002       09-01-2013, 11:47 AM Reply   
Scary Incident, dang edit wont let me edit title

My Dad is a regular reader of the site but does not have an account so he asked me to relay the events of this last Friday night as well as what he will do differently in the future in hopes that it will help others.

My parents were out on the Delta in Stockton Friday night with my 3 younger cousins who live in the area. My cousin Samuel has been getting pretty good and was working on clearing the wake. My parents were pulling Samuel behind their X star between Bob's and Paradise as Samuel was gaining confidence and trying to go wake to wake. Samuel was getting progressively closer till on one jump he cased the wake, dug the nose and had the board hit him in the back of the head splitting the skin open behind his ear.

When they pulled around to pick him up they noticed a lot of blood so they got him up and cleaned out the area with some bottled water and put pressure on it with a clean towel and started on their way to get him off the water. My dad tried to get ahold of Samuels parents so they cold meet him at Bobs, his parents didn't pick up their cell phones and they couldn't get ahold of any other friends or family so they had to go all the way to Buckley cove and pull the boat out of the water before getting on their way to an urgent care. They finally got ahold of Samuels parents and decided to meet at the nearest urgent care. When they pulled up the urgent care had just closed and again were not able to get Samuels parents back on the phone so they ended up waiting in the parking lot for Samuels parents to show up. They finally made the tradeoff, dropped Samuel's other 2 siblings at my grandparents and headed home.

Later that night my mom and dad discussed what they could do differently so this event wasn't duplicated in the future. These are the 2 things that they plan on doing and many of you may already do them.

First:
If they are taking out any minors, make sure that the parents will be available for contact via cell phone etc. A lot of the running around could have been eliminated if Samuels parents had their cell phones with them and answered when called.

Second:
My dad is planning on having helmets available from now on, especially for those who are progressing and pushing themselves.

Samuel ended up getting 3 internal stitches as well as the stitches over the top. Both of my parents work in the medical profession and were able to react appropriately when the incident occurred.
Attached Images
 
Old     (homedawg678)      Join Date: Jan 2007       09-01-2013, 12:25 PM Reply   
I think the scariest part of this is definitely not being able to get in touch with the dude's parents, as well as the huge gash in the back of the head.

Although you can never be too cautious with situations, especially when dealing with your head and your brain, I see the board hitting your head as more a freak occurrence. It happened to me once many years ago but was hit on the front of my head after only one foot was released from the binding.

The other thing is, there is definitely still a debate as to whether helmets actually do prevent head injury when hitting the water due to an increased surface area. Obviously it will prevent anything like your incident from occurring again, but would you therefore be putting yourself at a greater risk for concussions?
Old     (joe_crawley)      Join Date: Jan 2007       09-02-2013, 11:21 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by homedawg678 View Post
The other thing is, there is definitely still a debate as to whether helmets actually do prevent head injury
No there is not. This debate is long dead. Helmets PREVENT concussions whether hitting the water, rail, slider, ice, tree, snow, cement, whatever. The soft foam in a helmet is DRAMATICALLY, MAGNITUDES softer than water when impacting it at 70MPH, which is roughly the minimum speed necessary to cause a concussion from a head-water impact. This is a dead discussion.

The board-head impact might be a "freak" occurance, but I see it about once every two years with my boat and I pull about 300 sets a year of various skill levels. Every time I've seen it, wearing a helmet would have prevented it.

Finally, to close the helmet conversation, from 1994-2006 I had 5 blown eardrums and 10+ concussions wakeboarding. I started wearing a helmet in 2007. From 2007-2013, I've had 0 blown eardrums and 1 concussion wakeboarding and I've wakeboarded more in the last 7 years than I did in the previous 13 (concussion on a switch front 3 I shorted and caught a back edge). I always tell new riders to my boat, if you can't land a heel back 5, you look like a kook without a helmet- in fact, you would be safer without a jacket than without a helmet, period. Seriously, if you ride like a kook and can't land anything gnarly- hard 5's or switch inverts, wear a helmet because you probably suck and no matter how bad ass you think that tantrum to blind or nose 3 looks, 10,000 kids on the west michigan lakes can land the same **** cleaner than you and they are 9 years old, so no harm in wearing a helmet.

Last edited by joe_crawley; 09-02-2013 at 11:27 PM.
Old     (NATE1979)      Join Date: Aug 2013       09-04-2013, 7:31 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by joe_crawley View Post
No there is not. This debate is long dead. Helmets PREVENT concussions whether hitting the water, rail, slider, ice, tree, snow, cement, whatever. The soft foam in a helmet is DRAMATICALLY, MAGNITUDES softer than water when impacting it at 70MPH, which is roughly the minimum speed necessary to cause a concussion from a head-water impact. This is a dead discussion.
http://healthland.time.com/2013/03/1...t-concussions/

The debate is far from over.

Your 70MPH figure is not true. There is no minimum figure regarding any surface as every person is different and people have never been case studies for TBI.

Giving your head a larger profile causes it to stop more abruptly when hitting the water (physics 101).

There is ZERO evidence that a helmet on the water prevents concussions.

In the case of the poor kid in the picture, yes it would have likely helped.
Old     (baitkiller)      Join Date: Jan 2010       09-04-2013, 7:50 PM Reply   
This debate is a few months early kids.

Save it for when the lakes are iced over.

My boat: i have four helmets, from small to large. If you are under 18, you wear helmet or you dont ride. Chicks wear boardies over bikinis and you have to do the robot when you pop the handle.
My boat, my rules.
In place since end of last season to prevent the exact thing that has happened here. I pull dozens of miscellaneous kids every year and I would be sick if anyone got really hurt from something so easily avoided.
I wear one too but I have said why at least three times on here and Im tired of the debate.
Old     (dezul)      Join Date: Jul 2012       11-01-2013, 4:32 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by baitkiller View Post
This debate is a few months early kids.

Save it for when the lakes are iced over.

My boat: i have four helmets, from small to large. If you are under 18, you wear helmet or you dont ride. Chicks wear boardies over bikinis and you have to do the robot when you pop the handle.
My boat, my rules.
In place since end of last season to prevent the exact thing that has happened here. I pull dozens of miscellaneous kids every year and I would be sick if anyone got really hurt from something so easily avoided.
I wear one too but I have said why at least three times on here and Im tired of the debate.
I hate the robot. My friends tried to get that rule going on my boat. They can do it. I refuse to.
Old     (pprior)      Join Date: Jan 2012       11-01-2013, 6:26 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by baitkiller View Post
Chicks wear boardies over bikinis


you have to do the robot when you pop the handle.
First one for safety or modesty?

Second one - what is the meaning of that?
Old     (ttrigo)      Join Date: Dec 2004       09-01-2013, 12:48 PM Reply   
helmet debates aside, there is absolutely no reason a beginner shouldnt be wearing helmets nowadays. (nothing against your dad though matthew)
with the slower speeds, and the limited air that beginners catch, the whole debate over concussions is almost pointless. a helmet would definitely have prevented this type of injury.
it kills me though that people have cell phones, and dont keep them readily available. I get it, if you are in meetings, etc. however, if your children are out doing activities, whether its baseball, soccer, swimming, wakeboarding, etc, you keep your phone on!
glad to hear he didnt suffer any other injuries. hope it doesnt scare him from getting back out on the water!
Old     (jordanh)      Join Date: Feb 2013       09-01-2013, 12:59 PM Reply   
It's great that people share these experiences to educate others. Being a first year boat owner it's situations like these that I feel I need to be more well prepared for. Unfortunate for you guys, but its easier for me to prepare for situations from others experiences than my own. Glad everything ended well. He'll be back on the water in no time I'm sure.
Old     (VinnyA)      Join Date: Aug 2011       09-01-2013, 6:47 PM Reply   
Isn't this why we call crashes like that scorpions? because the board looks like a scorpion's tail/stinger coming down on you?
Old     (Nordicron)      Join Date: Aug 2011       09-01-2013, 7:40 PM Reply   
Kids are super flexible and often times ride on boards that are to big for them. Therefore the use of helmets should be mandatory to prevent scorpions.
Old     (scottb7)      Join Date: Oct 2012       09-01-2013, 10:02 PM Reply   
After getting a handful of minor concussions as a newbie wakeboarder, I got a helmet. It helped a lot. In my opinion anyone that says they don't help is just wrong. I wore it for first 2 or 3 years, and suggest not a bad idea for noobs.
Old     (redfive48)      Join Date: Aug 2013       09-02-2013, 2:40 PM Reply   
I got my helmet after blowing out my ear drum on a fall, lot cheaper than the co pays for the ear and the meds

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Old     (nickdakoolkat)      Join Date: Sep 2005       09-02-2013, 8:05 PM Reply   
Not sure how liability and consent work, but if someone is hurt their parents can't help. If its me I'm calling for an ambulance and or helicopter if it seems serious. Especially head injuries, they are no joke. I'd rather deal with whatever financial burden or medical bills (if they have no insurance) than a dead person.
Old     (smitty75)      Join Date: Jun 2013       11-01-2013, 3:54 AM Reply   
I don't understand the helmet debate. I'm an engineer and completely understand the surface area argument, but since purchasing one I have never had a headache after a day of wakeboarding. That's after a lot of head slaps. Best $45 I've ever spent.
Old     (baitkiller)      Join Date: Jan 2010       11-01-2013, 6:31 PM Reply   
Modesty. Side tie bikinis and a boat full of pre and actively pubescent boys + wakeboarding = board shorts when riding.

There was a thread last year about boat rules. One guy had a great list. Of that list I borrowed the doing the robot dance movements when you drop the handle and the roll of dice to establish riding order. Both have been great additions to the boat. I suspect that many here also borrowed from the various lists offered on that thread..
Old     (phathom)      Join Date: Jun 2013       11-01-2013, 10:21 PM Reply   
Just for input of what I have done. This season I have tried to go bigger and try more things. The result of this has been a lot of harder falls and that headache from the slap you get when you hit the water. For me I found that buying a pair of silicone swimmers ear plugs (the stepped kind, shown here, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) has eliminated that problem for me. It obviously doesn't do anything about true head protection, but it has definitely helped in the headache department from all those falls. Oh and you can still hear the music from the tower with these ones, so a win win.
Old     (fullspeed)      Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Santa Cruz County CA       11-03-2013, 11:00 AM Reply   
Helmets are a good thing. Regardless of how good you think you are. I have 3 in my boat and the one time I didn't it was a hospital trip with a little kid getting 8 stitches inner and outer on the back of his head. Yes he was a beginner and it was a freak accident, but aren't all accidents pretty much a freak accident?

I blew my ear drum out, knock myself out cold and came to only after the boat was circling me. I now wear a helmet always and so do all my kids. Some adults that ride on my boat say they don't like to wear them, because they look stupid or they feel that others look at them and think they are suppose to be better then they are because they have a helmet is on. Dumb, who cares what others think of you while you are riding or how you look. The helmet works for me and it the past 6 years plus I have not been knocked out or head injury free because of my helmet.

One advise is get a helmet that fits correctly. Snug and the right size. Again that is why I have 3 in my boat.
Old     (fullspeed)      Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Santa Cruz County CA       11-03-2013, 11:05 AM Reply   
On another side note I also wear a type 3 life jacket....another topic discussed on WW. I don't have any life jackets on my boat that are not type 3.
Old     (Laker1234)      Join Date: Mar 2010       11-03-2013, 1:42 PM Reply   
I had a minor get a cut--not too bad--but the emergency room personnel would not do any treatment without the parent's permission. It's a good idea to get a permission form from the parents just in case something like this happens.
Old     (Ttime41)      Join Date: Nov 2011       11-03-2013, 1:38 PM Reply   
^^ why don't you bubble wrap me while you're at it
Old     (alexair)      Join Date: Oct 2008       11-04-2013, 9:29 AM Reply   
My opinion - too many cases like that happens when kids go fast and they think that wakeboarding is so easy. Supervisor (or boat driver) have to be able understand level of rider, his stamina and use the proper timing of ride, speed of boat and size of wake that good for this rider, at least.

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