Thankfully, my dad wears helmets. A little over a month ago, there was a severe accident in my family. My dad was on his usual bike ride when he had his accident. There was no foul play involved. We have minimal information as to what happened.
He was unable to remember anything for more than five seconds. After scans and tests, his doctors concluded that he was suffering from a slight brain bleed. After 24 hours in the hospital, he improved enough to come home.
A brain bleed is just what it sounds, but for my dad, the bleed wasn’t entirely in the brain; it was in the layers between the skull and the brain. It was a minimal bleed.
Once he was home, he slept a lot and had to take things slow. Now, he is almost entirely back to normal. That is a result of a concussion. It is a slow process, but every day he continues to improve.
Normal means that he is able to work all day without the need for a nap. His recovery is impressive. There were some estimates that the healing process would take more than three months.
He has not fully healed, but he is now expected to make a full recovery. This prognosis is thanks to the fact that he was wearing his helmet.
Helmets provide protection
A helmet will not stop every injury, but it can save your life. Some people choose not to wear helmets because the helmets are not fashionable.
Our culture needs to normalize wearing a helmet. The helmet needs to be worn for safety and protection.
I tell you this story to ask you to wear a helmet when you participate in sports requiring one.
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A helmet saved my life and thankfully I always was good about wearing them especially since my best friend is a NeuroPsych who specializes in TBI.
Since my TBI I found ways to do health education and promotion and prevention around helmet safety and brain injuries. It’s so important to protect that brain that literally does everything for you.