Please wear helmets!!!!!!!!!

[disney obsessed]

Invinceability. Most 18 year olds think that all is good. nothing will really happen to them.

I just came from the memorial service of my eldest daughters love of her life. He was skateboarding and fell. He lost consciousness and was in the neuro icu for a week before his parents were faced with the decision to take him off of life support because his brain funcions were beyond help. Please do not let this happen again. Wear your helmets as an example, make your kids wear them, make your teenagers wear them.

Amen.

[PirateLover]

I am so sorry. Your daughter must be devastated. As a kid, I was never allowed out of the house without a helmet, even though I felt like a dweeb sometimes. My neighbor has been teaching his young daughter how to ride a bike, and I got so angry when I saw her wobbling down a city block with no helmet. It's such a simple thing that can end up making a big difference.

[DizneyRox]

As an avid mountain biker, I will not ride with anyone who doesn't wear a helmet. Mostly because I don't want to carry their lifeless body 5 miles out of the woods. Sometimes it's hard enough just to get myself out.

[MickeyMousse]

So sorry to hear news like this. We will keep you and yours in our thoughts.

[pianobabe]

I am sorry his family and your daughter are having to go through this. My thoughts and prayers are with them all. Perhaps his death will be an example to others and will prevent this from happening to someone else.

[Magic Smiles]

I am so sorry to hear this. My DS(16 1/2) used to wear a helmet ALL the time, but now is convinced that he is invinceable. We had this discussion just the other week when he went snowboarding..........and no he did NOT wear his helmet even though I made him take it (he told me)......yes he does have a helmet for all dangerous sports. Unfortunately I cannot always be with him and therefore cannot force him. If only they would pass laws enforcing the use of helmets. Then we could save lives.
My thoughts are with you and his family.

[Tink2002]

So sorry to hear about your loss, my thoughts are with you, your daughter, and everyone touched.

I am going to school to be a speech-language pathologist and it's a sad fact that depending on where I choose to work, a large number of clients on my case load may be there from brain injuries that could have been prevented by wearing a helmet.

I read "Where is the Mango Princess?" for a class two years ago, it is about a man who received TBI (traumatic brain injury) due to a freak boating accident, but the same effects can apply to all instances where brain injury can occur and be prevented with a helmet - it does contain a small amount of mature content, but if you screen it and think your children are old enough to grasp it I highly encourage having them read this book as a reminder that even if death does not result from a lack of a helmet, the injuries sustained can turn you into a completely different person with many obstacles to overcome for the rest of your life.

[Ed]

I couldn't agree more, and would like to add that the same thing applies to SEAT BELTS! It's absolutely appalling how many times I read news stories of traffic fatalities that end with "Police say none of the victims were not wearing seat belts." And all too many times the victims are in the 16-25 age group. :(

[RedSoxFan]

So sorry for your loss. DD12 (she was 10 at the time) fell off her bike and she was wearing a helmet. And with wearing a helmet, she suffered a slight concussion along with lots of cuts and bruises. I had to take her to urgent care as she passed out. I actually think people look stupid riding their bikes with no helmets. And people not wearing seatbelts infuriate me --- especially when it's kids.

[pilk]

Sorry for your loss.

I once thought I didn't need to wear a helmet. Thankfully this was a long time ago, I was about 7 years old. I was riding my bike infront of my home when I fell off. My head hit the curb giving me a concusion. I spent a few nights in the hospital under observation. I strongly support the use of helmets (and all personal protective equipment).

[LauraleeH]

I am so sorry to hear this. My DS(16 1/2) used to wear a helmet ALL the time, but now is convinced that he is invinceable. We had this discussion just the other week when he went snowboarding..........and no he did NOT wear his helmet even though I made him take it (he told me)......yes he does have a helmet for all dangerous sports. Unfortunately I cannot always be with him and therefore cannot force him. If only they would pass laws enforcing the use of helmets. Then we could save lives.
My thoughts are with you and his family.
If your son is only 16, YOU still have a choice. You make him wear his helmet, or he doesn't go out. Simple as that. If he doesn't listen to you, he's not going to listen to the police that try to enforce it, either.

People my age are so stubborn, it drives me crazy. All they care about is how they look.

I'm so sorry for your daughters loss. You all will be in my prayers.

[Magic Smiles]

If your son is only 16, YOU still have a choice. You make him wear his helmet, or he doesn't go out. Simple as that. If he doesn't listen to you, he's not going to listen to the police that try to enforce it, either.

People my age are so stubborn, it drives me crazy. All they care about is how they look.


I agree if I am there, but I wasn't at the ski hill with him. He was up there with friends. If it was law I know that he would definitely wear the helmet, as he really is a good and intelligent kid. He could have lied to me and said he wore his helmet, but he told me he didn't. On school trips where it is mandatory to wear helmets, he always does. I am going to guess that he must have been teased by peers about wearing helmets as he is also rebeling about wearing his skateboarding helmet. Again, if I am around, the helmet is on or he is off the skateboard. Unfortunately I am not always around him. I had him read this thread......but :confused: it would never happen to him, he says. If only we could always be there to protect our loved ones.

[disney obsessed]

Greg did not think it would happen to him either. He was very bright. He was in his first semester at Virginia Tech in the school of engineering. There were hundreds of people at his memorial. None of them thought it could happen to someone they love. That is the problem with accidents. We do not plan them. We do not think they will happen.

Hey Magic Smiles' kid ---------------------------
Listen to your father and wear a helmet. Do not let him and your friends go through this.

[Kairi_7378]

I'm so sorry to hear about your and your DD's loss.

Thank you for the important lesson that life is very precious, and there are so many simple things we can do to preserve it.

[dnickels]

So sorry to hear that.

I was biking in back of my subdivision one day and came upon a guy standing beside his bike looking confused. He didn't know where he was and didn't know how he got there, he had just fallen off his bike and he actually had his helmet on! It's scary to think what might have happened if he didn't.

[garymacd]

I am sorry for you and your daughter. It is awful to lose a loved one.

I commute to work on my bike 20 km each way. Well, not today. With the snow and temps dropping, I won't chance it.

I will never ride without my helmet. I have had several concussions from work and sports injuries, most while wearing a helmet, and have dealt with those who have fallen off their bikes or received serious head injuries and not survived.

I know what the alternative for me would have been had I not worn my helmet.

[pink]

I'm sorry this happened. My heart goes out to your daughter and the boys family. I know what you mean about people feeling invicible, but it's not just teens. My mother dated a man when she was in her 20's. One day he took out his motorcycle on the highway without a helmet (this was before the law was enforced in NY) and he was simply getting off the exit, his bike hit some rocks, he fell off and died. It's so tragic. If he would have worn his helmet he could have just stood up, dusted himself off and kept on going.

I also uge everything to wear helmets AND seatbelts. They save lives.

[faline]

I'm so sorry!:pixie::pixie::pixie:

[Stitchahula]

I'm so sorry for your daughters loss. A friend of mine was on his motorcycle years ago when someone didn't stop for a stop sign. The dent in the hood of the pick up truck was my friends head from where he got hit. He is ok now thank god but it was pretty touch and go for awhile. The doctors said the only reason why he was still alive was because he was wearing a helmet. Whenever I see someone not wearing one either on motorcycle skateboard or bicycle I can't believe how little they are thinking about the dangers of it.

[disney obsessed]

Just want to bump this to the top to remind those who are getting their bikes from the garage for spring....
Please, no comments. Instead, pass the need to wear helmets on to someone you love.

[Mickey91]

I am so, so sorry for your daughter's loss and for the pain your whole family will be going through in days ahead. I lost too many of my friends between the age of 16 and 21. My thoughts and prayers will be with her and your family.

[garymacd]

I just wanted to say one more thing about this. Please remember that helmets do not last forever. Especially if they get left out in the sun and weather. And especially if you do fall off and bump your head.

Your helmet should be replaced after a fall or at least every few years, since the foam does get brittle with age.

Okay. I wanted to say something else, too.

Make sure the helmet fits. I have seen so many kids riding with their helmet on the side of their heads because the straps are not adjusted properly or it is too large for them. If it falls off their heads, they won't grow into it, so get one that fits now, not next year.