March is National Brain Injury Awareness Month

March is National Brain Injury Awareness Month

Dear Readers,

With the recent tragic brain injury of pro snowboard Kevin Pearce, and the shocking death of Natasha Richardson last winter after a seemingly minor bump on the head skiing, I want to bring this information to light. If you spend time doing and around active sports, you see people get conked on the head plenty. It's no joke. Read this and be educated about traumatic brain injury (TBI) and know what to do if you suspect it.

Lauren
editor SnowboardSecrets.com
and SnowboardSecrets.TV

Tips on Recognizing, Treating Brain Injuries During National Awareness Month in March

Spring break vacationers advised to exercise caution, plan ahead in case of medical emergencies

Alexandria, VA – As a reminder: March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. So, as Americans head off to sunny beaches, snowy ski resorts and other fun-filled destinations on their spring vacations, the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) advises them to use caution, to recognize the symptoms of traumatic brain injury (TBI), and to check into supplemental insurance and potential access to medical facilities, particularly if traveling remotely or abroad.

“Air medical crews and emergency physicians see a lot of travel-related injuries at this time of year, especially among college students on spring break,” said AAMS President Daniel Hankins, MD, FACEP. “That is why AAMS is urging everyone to exercise caution, to wear a helmet when engaging in activities that involve the risk of head injury, and to know when to seek medical attention for a TBI.”

One such student is Brandon Lacko of Columbus, Ohio, who suffered a severe head injury while jet skiing off the coast of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and required medevac transport back to the States following his accident.

“The local hospital was not able to treat Brandon’s brain swelling and other severe injuries, so he had to be airlifted,” said his mother, Renae Lacko. “The air-medical crew and U.S. trauma center team saved his life.”

Swift medical attention for TBI is key, experts say, because while most patients — who number about 1.4 million every year — are treated and released, TBI is still a major cause of death and disability, with approximately 50,000 Americans dying from it annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The good news, though, is that TBI often can be successfully treated if caught in time. “That is why it is imperative to recognize the signs and symptoms,” said Dr. Hankins. “Repeated vomiting, severe headache, dilated pupils, sudden lethargy, trouble focusing or remembering and rapid deterioration after a period of lucidity – these are all possible indicators of a potentially serious brain injury, which demands immediate medical attention.”

In addition to promoting TBI awareness, AAMS offers the following spring-break travel safety tips:

- Plan for potential medical emergencies. Most medical insurance plans do not offer coverage abroad, so check into short-term travel insurance and a medical evacuation membership. Also, know the location and type of medical facilities near your travel destination, and get a MedicAlert bracelet for any potential health complications.
- Make duplicates of travel and medical documents. Leave photocopies of your passport, itinerary, medical information and credit cards at home. Don’t keep all IDs, money, credit cards and travel tickets in the same place.
- Do your homework. Register international travel with the State Department, at https://travelregistration.state.gov, and check the CDC, at wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/, for travelers’ health tips.
- Get adequate training before participating in potentially risky recreational activities, especially when renting equipment – including skis, motor-bikes, boats or scuba gear. Also, use caution and obey the rules.
- Wear an ASTM-approved helmet when engaging in fast-action sports or recreational activities.

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Protect your wrists and tailbone when snowboarding.
www.Flexmeters.com

Sarka Pancochova and JR Celski interviews at SnowboardSecrets.TV.

Shaun White in Playboy

We just got this early scoop and are publishing it as we received it. Lauren

SHAUN WHITE IS PLAYBOY’S MARCH 20Q

Snowboarding’s Goofy Hero Talks about the Winter Olympics, Growing up with Tony Hawk, the Downside of Super Competitiveness and His Wandering Gold Medal

“It’s funny, because I’ve misplaced it a couple of times,” says Shaun White in Playboy’s March 20Q when asked where he keeps his Olympic gold medal (issue on newsstands now and online at www.playboydigital.com). “Then one day, I was in my mom’s car, and I went to put something in the back pocket of the front seat. I reached in and pulled out my medal. It was in a plastic bag. I was like, What? … So I’m stoked to have it again. It’s now in a safe place in my house in California.”

Shaun—also known as the “Flying Tomato” because of his long red hair—is already a legend in his sport at age 23. In advance of the upcoming Winter Games, he sat down with Playboy contributor Jason Buhrmester to discuss how early success affected his friendships in high school; his role as a stuntman for Disney; early family ski trips in crowded vans and hotel rooms; and whether or not he smoked pot with Michael Phelps. Following are selected quotes from their conversation:

On smoking pot with Michael Phelps: “With Phelpsy? Old Smoke on the Water? No. To be honest, I’ve never been into going there. My friends, I’ll admit, most of them do.…and now, because it’s Olympic time and everybody’s getting tested for drugs, you see them just sweating bullets, man. I’m like, Ah, whatever.”

On the pressure to perform in the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics: “Since I was 13 or so, I can’t remember showing up to an event where I wasn’t the guy to beat. I’ve always been that guy. Not that I was the best guy, but I was always the one who was counted on to perform at a certain level. And I like it, man… I can sit back and go, Wow, if everybody wants to talk to me about the Olympics, that means they think I have a really good shot at doing well. That’s an amazing feeling—that all these people have my back, in a way. To a certain extent they believe in me. I use that. I had a friend who put money on me last time around. I was like [pumps fist], Yeah! [laughs]”

On whether or not he cried after winning a gold medal in 2006: “It was debatable, man…I was starting to get choked up and I was at the point of crying—almost. I mean, my parents were there, the entire world was watching. And I remember Danny Kass made a joke. I swear. So it was a mix of a cry and a humorous thing that pulled me right out of it.”

On being upset at missing the 2002 Olympic snowboard team: “Well, I was 15. I didn’t really understand what the Olympics are all about. But everybody became aware of it in 2002 because the Americans swept the podium. All of the sudden it was this big deal…at that point I understood. I started seeing these guys everywhere, and I was getting phone calls about this guy being the best rider in the world. I was like, Yeah, I’m sure he’s great at that, but he doesn’t do everything. I pride myself as a snowboarder who can ride jumps, half-pipes, rails, whatever you put out there. So I was more upset to go through five contests and not make the big party at the end, ­you know?”

On his blue-collar background and family snowboard trips: “At first we’d take a really small van and drive up and stay at a Motel 6. We’d pile into a room and drop one mattress onto the floor and leave just the box spring for Dad. It was funny because I didn’t know any better. I thought, That’s cool—a slumber party. I was stoked. I had fun. And it made it possible for me to snowboard.”

On how high school classmates treated him after winning his first X Games medals: “That’s when it got weird. I was super-shy. I didn’t know what to do in that scenario. I remember being at school and thinking, Wow, these kids are really digging what I’m doing. This is awesome, and I’ve got all these friends. Then I started to pick apart the friends I had, like, this guy keeps asking me for stuff; this is just getting weird. I realized I was over it.”

On growing up with Tony Hawk: “He’s just a funny guy; he’s a great person. He has never sat me down and said, ‘Hey, here’s some great advice.’ It doesn’t really work like that with him. I was lucky to be introduced to the only guy I knew who could relate somewhat to what was going on with me. I remember hanging with him at airports, getting approached by tons of people and seeing how he dealt with it and how he was cool to every fan who came up. I’d see where he would draw the line and say, ‘Hey, give me a little space.’”

On doing stunt work for Disney: “It’s funny now because we were talking to Disney people about some stuff recently, and I told them, ‘I don’t know if you guys know this, but there was a show called The Jersey, and I used to stunt double on the show for this one kid, Elliott.’ I did skateboard and BMX stuff and even Rollerblading if they needed it. I mean, the kid couldn’t even ride a bike.”

Olympic Athlete Interviews from SnowboardSecrets.TV

OLYMPIC ATHLETE INTERVIEWS HERE!!

The Snowboard Szine
SPECIAL BULLETIN !

exclusive from SnowboardSecrets.com
and our new snowboard internet TV channel
www.SnowboardSecrets.TV

from Lauren@SnowboardSecrets.com
2/15/10 Seth Westcott has Flexmeter Wrist Guards

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In This Issue
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Lauren is on a "radio tour" explaining Snowboarding in the Olympics and
Twifties and has been on 10 big radio shows in the last 2 weeks! List of shows and
clips here.
Also...

Olympic Athlete Interviews
We've got'em

Tonight is Snowboard Cross (Boardercross) at the Olympics.

This season we interviewed Snowboardcross/Boardercross athletes
Seth Wescott and Nick Baumgartner.
See what they told us about themselves in their word interviews at www.SnowboardProfiles.com.

See the video interview we did of Seth Wescott - find out about the secret tree stashes at Sugarloaf, and what Seth uses for Olympic brilliance on his teeth!
Here.

See the video we did of snowboard athlete and Olympic announcer Todd Richards here.

Torah Bright will compete in the Olympic women's halfpipe Thursday night and has an excellent chance at the podium. See our interview with Torah Bright right after she won the 2009 US Open here.


Shaun White looks good for the men's halfpipe podium for Wed., as long as he isn't too literally bent out of shape from his crash at the X Games. See our summer interview with Shaun White at the Tribeca Film Festival a few years back in NYC.


Torstein Horgmo and Jenny Jones were winners of the Dew Tour at Mount Snow 2 weeks ago. We've got the interviews here!


Shaun White trained in a private secret halfpipe last spring at Silverton, CO. Have you seen the videos? See 'em here!
http://snowboardsecrets.tv/index.php?page=2
http://snowboardsecrets.tv/index.php?page=3

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There were 100,000 snowboard wrist injuries last year.

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Flexmeter Wrist Protector Gloves and Flexmeter Wrist Guards - http://www.flexmeters.com .
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I sell this product because I believe in it.
Lauren

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Thanks for reading the Snowboard Szine!
Don't forget to register your snowboard against theft
at www.SnowboardRegistry.com
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