Poor Natasha Richardson (Liam Neesons wife)

[nametaken]

|I hope she's gonna be OK

here

just heard this, poor woman

very sad. She has two young sons according to the article. Let's hope she makes a good recovery.

I think she may have had an acute extradural bleed which causes pressure to rise in the brain very quickly. Unless the pressure's released surgically asap the outcome is unlikely to be good.
Apparently she's been moved to New York tonight - i don't think that can be a good sign either. I don't think they would move somebody with critically raised intracranial pressure.Hope the news is good nonetheless for her family's sake....

They've corrected the statement - supposed to be less serious than earlier reported

Just read in the Times that she could be brain dead.

It's not looking very good for her.

For starters, she's not at a trauma center hospital. She would be if she had something that stood a reasonable chance of being treated.

And now her whole family, including aunts and uncles, are gathered round.

Yes I think it's highly unlikely that they would have moved her if she was in the process of making a delicate recovery. Poor woman and her family.

I saw a piece about skiing helmets for kids on the news the other day, and I was amazed that wearing a helmet isn't the norm. Skiers often go much faster than you do on a bike.

I was reading about this too. Poor lady.

Interesting family aren't they? So many of them famous actors.

Yes it's sad but she was not wearing a helmet. I cannot understand why people do not take this simple measure - there have been so many deaths on the slopes this season and some of them could have been mitigated by a helmet I'm sure

so

I've never heard of beginning skiiers wearing helmets at resorts, tbh.

You don't normally hit your head when you fall skiing at the beginner level, and the runs are designed espcially so there's little danger of hitting trees.

Beginning runs are also sloped gently so that you don't pick up too much speed.

Usually, if you get injured as a beginner, it's your legs or the odd 'faceplant'.

Apparently she refused to see a doctor which is a real shame, no guarantee that it would have saved her. But apparently the instructors couldn't persuade her.
It's a pity they couldn't have had some way of insisting, she might have had a real chance if they had been able to assess her as soon as they could.
But it's just one of those incredibly unlucky things, She must have just felt fine for a bit afterwards. So sad though when she has such young boys.

hwo very sad

She was checked out, ipanema. She then signed a form exempting the ski resort from any sort of blame and was escorted to her room per her request.

I'd have done the same thing.

I've hit my head before and when you don't lose consciousness or bleed, you don't really think you've got this massive bleed on the brain.

The one time I went in I was knocked out and did have a concussion, but my ex h slipped on ice going into work and fractured his skull (in addition to opening a HUGE cut on his head where he hit brickwork on a building window ledge) and ruptured his ear drum and never lost consciousness. Spent 3 days in ICU and needed 48 stitches to the side of his head and the area where he fell looked like someone had died, but he never lost consciousness.

Being on the Nursery slope is not necessarily going to stop you having a head injury expat - what happens if someone out of control ploughs into you and makes you fall heavily on your head (or hit someone or something else with your head). Why is is that in most European resorts now helmets are compulsory for children on all slopes, but not for adults?? Doesn't make sense to me. I am not usually a health and safety freak (quite the opposite in fact) but as far as ski-ing goes it's a no brainer (excuse the pun)

Not quite the same but when we had all that snow last month I took my son sledging at a local steep slope. I was surprised to see a family there with the children all wearing cycling helmets...the thought would not have crossed my mind.
However I was converted to the idea when we watched the way some of the older children there were hurtling themselves down the hill with no regards for anybody that might be at the bottom...my heart was in my mouth watching.
So if we were to have heavy snow again I would certainly be stealing the cycle helmet idea for my son... and sledging down a steep slope must be just about as fast as a nursery ski slope? Never been skiing.

bentneck - I am totally terrified of sledging - shortly after we arrived here in Hungary, one of the Mums at school was killed in a sledging accident. Was sledging with her 9 year old DS while her DH stood watching with their 9 month old. They hit a wall of ice and although the DS was thrown clear, she wasn't. Was in a coma for a few days but then died. I really cannot believe how anyone is allowed to do any snow sport without helmets.

Buda - I think the problem with sledging was that the kids just picked the best/steepest slope without thought to the dangers at the bottom such as trees/rocks/people. Also there must have been over a hundred people in a small area - most of them teenagers.

My son was on the edge of the hill where it sloped gently and where most of the younger children had parents watching or joining in. (I went down on the sledge with my son sitting in front...it was great fun but not too fast).

The older children were going down facing backwards/kneeling/lying down etc which would not give them any control if they needed to stop quickly. Also there was little evidence of taking turns and waiting until the bottom was clear of people before launching yourself down. I saw a few near misses!!

I will definitely be stealing the cycle helmet ideas if we were to have snow like that again - one of the children had the kind of helmet that covers the face so would possibly give a greater level of protection.
At least as a parent I would feel that I was able to slightly reduce the risk without stealing all the fun!

To my disgust, on the Telegraph online site homepage there's a story in the most read section about Natasha showing her knickers accidentally at some awards ceremony.

I email to complain. It may be a most-read story but it's a bit off when the poor woman may be dying.

Indeed - things are not looking good.

she is a famous actress in her own right not osmenes wife

'Being on the Nursery slope is not necessarily going to stop you having a head injury expat - what happens if someone out of control ploughs into you and makes you fall heavily on your head (or hit someone or something else with your head).'

Will, you and I have a better chance of winning the lotto than that happening!

C'mon. North American resorts have HUGE liability insurance, it's a litigous society, and the slopes are heavily patrolled, especially the bunny runs.

It sounds like a freak accident.

She signed a disclaimer form so the resort's off the hook.

She had an accident.

But, expat, the argument is re helmets, and it does surprise me that they're not de rigeur for skiing - any skiing - when they are for cycling, pretty much. It's not as if it would majorly inconvenience a skier to wear a light helmet.