Natasha Richardson, wife of actor Liam Neesom, died today from an skiing accident. She will be missed!

A very sad and untimely death.

Who would think that a relatively minor fall, on a beginner's ski slope, with an instructor present, would have such a devastating outcome.

How terrible for her family.

Very sad indeed, to see what some people do to themselves and walk away and what happens to others who do very little doesn't make sense.

You can light a candle here...

http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=nat%20r

RIP. She will be missed.

I had watched her story unfolding in the news and was hoping that she might recover. It came as a shock to me that she didn`t.

Rest in peace.

I was shocked to see the news this morning. She was a really wonderful actress.

This is was one of those things that just puzzles and is very sad, especially leaving behind her two young sons and also her husband, of course.
I can only hope that it will be a chance for more to learn about and be aware of what caused her death, because it is far more common than most people know.
My thoughts are with her family.

How devastated her family must be.
I've been thinking about this since I heard yesterday...God help them all.

A truly bright star extinguished by a tragic accident, Natasha will be sadly missed.

How unfortunate, perhaps some good could come from it if it gets laws past that everyone should wear a helmet when skiing.

Definitely a tragic accident. Sad for her family and the loved ones she has left behind.

But in regards to mandatory helmet laws, argus, no way. As far as helmets go, they may save some injuries but they promote hucking which actually result in MORE injuries. I would bet that more severe injuries come from people wearing helmets than those without helmets. Just based on general observation, that's all. In that string of deaths at Mammoth a few years ago, weren't all of them wearing helmets? False sense of security, in my opinion. Smarter to not wear a helmet and ride at 90% than wear a helmet and ride at a level far exceeding your ability. Banning Ipods and hard liquor sales (not in the slightest saying that's what happened to Richardson BTW) at the mountain bars would go a lot farther toward eliminating injuries/death on the mountains.

I was so saddened by this death. Such a wonderful actress, and it's so sad for her family. So sudden.

I know that if I or anyone I know whacks their head - even slightly - I'm hustling off to the emergency room. Poor woman had no such warning.

Bless her family.

Y

(Schoonie101 - what is "hucking"?)

Hucking is when people throw themselves into the air out of control hoping to happenstancely land a trick way out of the realm out of their ability.

My deepest sympathies to the family. A special thought for Natasha's mother, Vanessa Redgrave. We do not expect to outlive our children, it must be very difficult for her.

I was also taken by surprise when Natasha died. I know that most beginner slopes are slow, gentle, and fairly flat. It's incredible that she could hit her head that hard. The damage occurs then, from the brain smacking into the front of the skull, and back.

I worry that, since she was skiing with one or both of her sons, they might feel to blame for talking 'MoM' into taking a lesson...Very sad.

Just thinking... was she on skis or a snowboard? They say skiing but that is sometimes used as just a generic term. On skis, yes, that does seem kind of odd to have a crash like that while learning. But on a snowboard, it is very easy when you're facing uphill to catch that downhill edge and whiplash straight into the snow headfirst.

Regardless, a really tragic accident.

A delay in medical treatment might have contributed to this tragic outcome:

Quote:

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Doctors said Richardson might have survived had she received immediate treatment. However, nearly four hours elapsed between her lethal fall and her admission to a hospital.

The lack of medical helicopters in the province of Quebec may have played a role in Richardson's death, Montreal's top head trauma doctor said Friday.

Tarek Razek, director of trauma services for the McGill University Health Centre, which represents six of Montreal's hospitals said: "It's impossible for me to comment specifically about her case, but what I could say is... driving to Mont Tremblant from the city (Montreal) is a two-and-a-half-hour trip, and the closest trauma centre is in the city. Our system isn't set up for traumas and doesn't match what's available in other Canadian cities, let alone in the States... and many other developed countries."

Being driven by ambulance to two separate hospitals rather than airlifted by helicopter directly to a trauma centre could have cost Richardson crucial moments, he said. "A helicopter is obviously the fastest way to get from Point A to Point B," he said. Centre Hospitalier Laurentien, the first treatment centre Richardson was brought to, does not specialize in head traumas, so her speedy transfer to Sacre Coeur Hospital in Montreal was critical, said Razek.

Mont Tremblant resort officials have said only that she fell on a beginner's trail and later reported not feeling well. Patients with a blow to the head often feel fine immediately after being hurt because symptoms from the bleeding may take time to emerge.

Razek said immediate treatment might have helped Richardson but added: "There are so many variables it's hard to speculate what might have been done differently."

"This is a very treatable condition if you're aware of what the problem is and the patient is quickly transferred to a hospital," said Dr. Keith Siller of New York University Langone Medical Center. "But there is very little time to correct this."

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http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2009-03-21-richardson-wake_N.htm

Thanks for posting that article. It kind of freaks me out a little because I can't tell you how many concussions I have gotten from my head slamming backwards into either concrete or hard snow. Last time I did that was a couple years ago up at Mammoth just messing around, doing ollie switch 540s along the bank of the run Upper Dry Creek. Went about 450 degrees around the one time, couldn't quite revert through it and caught that backside edge, just slammed my head back hard, tweaked my neck muscles something terrible too in the process. At others' urgings, I went to the hospital next day to get checked out. All clear but they found multiple brain cysts. Hmm. Never did get those examined further. Probably should one of these days. At any rate, always good for an excuse for any aberrant behavior.

But regardless of my foibles, just goes to show that it is a good idea to get yourself checked out when you have a severe head slam.

Also, whatever you do, if you have a head slam like that and have a headache, never and I mean absolutely NEVER, take aspirin to try to get rid of the headache. Thins the blood and will actually make things worse.