Media Release July 2009
A Childhood Brain Injury is not a single event
Now that school is out and kids are starting their summer, a many have taken up the art of skateboarding at the various skate parks in our local communities such as Hamilton, Kitchener and Ottawa to list a few. Skateboarding can be considered a recreational activity, an art form, a job to even a form of transportation for some. Skate parks offer a safe place to play, connect with others, and form new friendships. Whether your there to enjoy yourself or compete with peers, safety should not be overlooked because when something goes wrong, unlike a video game, there is no resetting a replay button and starting over. At most skate parks, the absence of awareness and the potential of serious injury is very present. On a warm and sunny day the skate parks is filled with kids. It goes largely unnoticed that up to 80% of all kids ranging in age are NOT wearing a helmet, take a look the next time you pass a skate park.
At most community skate parks the absence of kids wearing a helmet and other bodily protective gear is very noticeable. Most parks have no rules or by-laws addressing helmets and nothing that educates our youth about safety and injury prevention. Yet wipe outs, crashes and falls are something that occurs in skateboarding, just as they do in other sports. However, a brain injury is unlike a broken bone that heals in weeks and months, a brain injury and its consequences last a lifetime. As parent’s we have a responsibility to educate our kids and help them lead meaningful and productive lives.
Kids of all ages perform awe inspiring feats on their skateboards learning and completing various manoeuvres such as the “Ollie” and other daring feats as they show case their skills. Whether it’s Hamilton, Kitchener or even Ottawa Ontario, the awareness and concern is inexplicably absent. Is it society’s busy lifestyles, or the fact that we can’t see what our kids are doing a good enough excuse. Does this buffers suppress our imagination from conceptualized what risks they may be taking. I recall my mother once using a saying that almost seems fitting for our absence of helmet’s scenario and it goes like this; “What the eyes don’t see, the heart won’t grieve” I think a many parent’s might agree, as they usually never see what their child is doing or daring to try with their peers.
With no mandatory laws or by-laws in place and a health care system that cannot sufficiently provide for and to the extent that could be required where a serious and life altering incident occurs, this imbalance should you be concerning? If the above doesn’t resonate with you a little, perhaps reading the various stories about how someone’s life has changed might get you thinking about helmets, head injury and prevention. Care and rehabilitation after brain injury is costly and can be extensive depending upon your injuries sustained. There can be various cognitive, emotional and physical challenges that require intervention with recovery after hospitalization and overtime as your child grows and adjusts to their new life challenges and circumstances post injury.
The absence of understanding and the need for greater awareness is only second to the absence of helmets in our skate parks today. Helmets save lives, many injuries are predictable and preventable. Through prevention, we reduce the potential and number of injuries and fatalities experienced by kids. A Childhood Brain Injury is not a single or onetime event, a Brain Injury is forever!
Visit our FREE On-Line Forum and learn more about brain injury and how it can affect and change a person’s life forever. BRAININJURYFORUM.com is based out of Hamilton Ontario.
While helmets may not seem cool, preventing a brain injury definitely is.
If everyone wore a helmet, coolness wouldn’t be an issue.