WHEN AN IRRESISTIBLE FORCE MEETS AN IMMOVABLE OBJECT: TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY.

Several years ago, when my daughter was 13 years old, she suffered a severe traumatic brain injury during a Nordic skiing race. At the time, we desperately wanted to only know if she would survive her accident. We considered consulting a brain injury attorney or lawyer, but in the end there wasn't much point, despite the nearly $100,000 in medical fees and costs. We just decided not to pursue litigation. We did, however, learn a good deal from our local brain injury association which gave us information and general support. Mostly, we learned from our daughter and her fortitude.

NORTHERN WISCONSIN RACE

She was competing in a cross country skiing race in Cable, Wisconsin. There were two races scheduled for the day; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. In the morning the race was one style of cross country or nordic skiing style. In the afternoon the race was to be another cross country skiing style.

Towards the end of the morning ski race, just a hundred yards, or so, from the finish line, there was a short hill with a slight turn to the right at the base of the hill. Since it was a rather balmy day, the turn at the bottom of the hill became icy and slushy. It was here that my daughter's life changed and our family's life changed.

Knowing that the finish line was not far off, my daughter came over the top of the hill going at a good clip. She skied down the hill and just as she was making the turn, she fell forward and slid head first off the trail and right into a tree, striking the tree with the right side of her head.

IMMEDIATE HELP

So close to the finish line, there were several people on hand. As others tended to my daughter, other skiers hurried off to the finish line to get the ski patrol's help. The ski patrol soon arrived at where my daughter was lying unconscious, and swiftly going into shock. They strapped her to a board and a sled and brought her to a waiting ambulance at the finish line. The emergency medical technicians in the ambulance summoned a rescue helicopter from Duluth, Minnesota, about 55 miles away. While they awaited the helicopter, they took steps to counter my daughter's descent into shock and coma. They also gave her an injection of steroids to counter the brain's tendency to swell upon injury. The ambulance crew drove her to the airport which was only a mile or so drive from the finish line. They did whatever possible to stabilize her condition, while in contact with the emergency room at Duluth's St. Luke's Hospital.

THE COACH'S CALL

While all this was happening, my daughter's coach telephoned me at home in Minneapolis. He told me of her accident and that she was on her way to the Duluth hospital. He also assured me that some knowledgeable people on the scene had assured him she was going to be all right. With this assurance, and the thought that one can hardly be terribly injured skiing cross country, I gathered together a few things in an overnight bag, called my wife to talk with her, and then I drove up to Duluth. The trip to Duluth from Minneapolis is a couple hour's drive.

I arrived at the hospital in the late afternoon and was directed to the intensive care unit. After some delay, I was escorted to my daughter's room. Because of the coach's assurances, I kind of expected my daughter to be bandaged up a bit, but able to talk with me. What I saw was anything but!

A SHOCKING SURPRISE

My daughter was propped up slightly in her bed. There were tubes attached all over her body. The most shocking thing to me was that she was attached to a ventilator, the ventilator mechanically and rhythmically breathing and exhaling for her. She was in a coma.

The nurse gave me some information about her, but wanted to defer to the doctor who arrived soon thereafter. The doctor, a pediatric intensive care specialist, took me to a family waiting room, sat me down and tried to explain her condition to me. Whether I was in denial of the full extent of her condition, or just argumentative about her condition and her prospects, I wanted to know just how soon we could check her out of the hospital and bring her home. The doctor calmly and firmly kept repeating to me she had experienced a severe traumatic brain injury. This label did not sink in until the doctor explained that she was bleeding in three areas of her brain. She had bled at the site of her injury, her right temple. She bled at a point opposite the primary injury. And she had bled next to her brain stem. Brain stem---brain stem---brain stem. This I finally heard and began to first understand the seriousness of the situation. You see, the brain stem is sort of a primitive part of our brain that controls all sorts of systemic processes we don't often consciously think about. Primary among these things, it controls our breathing. This partially explained to me the need for a ventilator.

WOULD SHE DIE WITHIN HOURS?

The doctor told me she was in such a condition that we just had to wait and see what transpired in the next 24 hours. He did not say as much, but he was implying my daughter might die within the next 24 hours. The state I was in, I only heard the words that we needed to see what transpired in the next 24 hours. I did not infer the possibility of her death within the next 24 hours. (When my wife arrived at the hospital mid-afternoon the next day, the doctor took her aside and opined that I was not comprehending the dire nature of our daughter's condition.)

When the first 24 hours passed, they told us, we just needed to wait to see what transpired during the next 48 hours.

"DAD, I GOTTA GET BACK TO THE RACE!"

Three days after her injury, my daughter's condition had stabilized and she was responding sufficiently that she was taken off the ventilator. Having the tubes taken out of her nose and throat, in a scratchy voice, my daughter informed me, “Dad, I can't be lying about the hospital all day. I have to get back to compete in the afternoon race!” I explained to her the race was over three days ago. In due course, I also pointed out her condition. Her skull was fractured. She was deaf in her right ear. The entire right side of her face as paralyzed or, at least, palsied. Finally, the left side of her body was paralyzed.

The amazing thing about her recovery is that shortly after the accident, she scored very low on what is called the Glasgow Coma Scale. People having a very low score on this coma scale often die within the first few hour or days after the head injury, or within the first year after the head injury. My daughter scored at the bottom of the scale. She had a 3 or a 4 on the Glasgow Coma Scale.

HER GRIT AND DETERMINATION

She had a lot of work to do, and a lot of healing to achieve in her recovery. But my daughter was and is a determined and disciplined young woman.

Throughout her recovery, my daughter was determined to get better. She was determined to return to the life she led before her injury. She had incredible grit and fortitude. She chose goals and pursued them, step by step.

OUR MANY BLESSINGS!

Today, several years later, you would hardly know my daughter had ever been injured. The temporary deafness in her right ear was caused by blood filling up her outer ear canal as a result of her skull fracture. The palsy in her face receded over time as the swelling at the impact site diminished and the nerve controlling her facial muscles was no longer irritated. The paralysis on the left side of her body slowly ebbed away, finally leaving only the toes on her left foot unresponsive. Her enthusiastic, energetic, and competitive personality was not affected in any significant way.

Most of all, my wife and I treasure her even more for having nearly lost her. Each day we look upon her, we recognize how much of a treasure she is. We are grateful for our many blessings. Read about another miraculous recovery from traumatic brain injury.