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It’s once again time for the Thursday Meme, Current Events Wrap Up. Today I want to share a sad story that includes some very useful information for us as caregivers.
Head Injuries – One very sad story that has had headlines all week was the tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson, Liam Neeson’s wife. In case you missed it, she died from a fall while skiing on a fairly simple slope. Each time I saw the headlines, I prayed for her, and I continue to pray for comfort and encouragement for her husband, family and friends. One part of this story that I found of special importance to us, as caregivers, is found in this article at the Globe And Mail . Apparently an ambulance was dispatched, but turned back because her injuries did not seem to be very bad. According to the article, “Mr. Coderre, who has 23 years’ experience as a paramedic, says victims of head trauma often make the potentially fatal mistake of believing they are fine. ‘When you have a head trauma you can bleed. It can deteriorate in a few hours or a few days. People don’t realize it can be very serious. We warn them they can die and sometimes they start to laugh. They don’t take it seriously.’”
As a caregiver of children and elderly adults, we know that falls are a common occurrence for both groups. Many times, these falls can involve head injuries. I know to check with a doctor and then monitor anyone with a bad head injury for 24 hours. But I would never have thought that was necessary if they said they felt OK. Now I’ll know to ask a few more questions, watch a lot more closely, and push a little harder for a doctor visit. Medline has a good article on the subject of head injuries, including a checklist of what to watch for. This would be a good site for caregivers of all ages, including grandparents and parents, to bookmark.
If you’d like to read more articles on current events, check out the founder of this meme, The Surrendered Scribe . There you’ll find her take on the Madoff story as well as another view of Ms. Richardson’s death that I found to be informative and a sweet tribute.
You’ll also notice she is going to be participating in the Blog Party I am so excited about. Don’t forget that starts tonight at 12:01 a.m. EST, (though you might not want to visit until tomorrow during the daylight hours 🙂 ). I do hope you’ll come to our party, have a little fun, and maybe even win a fun prize! In fact, SandwichINK has donated two prizes:
99 — $25 gift certificate for Shutterfly
Provided by: SandwichINK.com
Prize details: $25 gift certificate for Shutterfly for photos of all those cute kids, grandkids, pets, etc.
100 — Two Coaching Sessions with Denise M. Brown from Caregiving.com
Provided by: SandwichINK.com
Prize details: Wishing for an easier day? With Denise as your coach, you can tackle your life’s current challenge. During each coaching call, you will determine your next steps that will take your toward the resolution, change or insight you want. Denise is a certified life coach, specializing in eldercare and life purpose. The value of your two free coaching calls is $150.00. For more information, please visit www.caregiving.com
You can see the rest of the prizes over at 5 Minutes For Mom’s prize page . As of 12 noon on Thursday, there were over 200 prizes listed. I’ve heard that many of the sites are also offering prizes on their own sites instead of through the main site, so the total number of fun goodies may be even bigger than this. Remember, if you don’t have a blog, you can still have fun. Stop by here tomorrow to get the link for the Blog Party Main Post. You just have to visit at least 20 of the many interesting sites you’ll find linked there, leave comments at each one you visit, then go back to the Blog Party Main Post and leave a comment, telling that you visited 20 sites and including what prize(s) you are interested in to be eligible to win. You have a whole week to do all that. And most important of all, have fun!
Natasha Richardson’s death is heartbreaking and the only positive I can ponder is as you have so well documented, how to prevent such a situation in the event of a fall.
Thanks for participating and see you at the party!