Schumacher Keeps on Fighting

Many people can relate to the recent news of former Formula 1 champion, Michael Schumacher and his fight to stay alive after a horrific skiing accident.

Accidents are common place, and life changing incidents can happen unexpectedly in a wide variety of situations. The complexity of the human brain makes it incredibly vulnerable to any sort of impact, although the shockwaves from smaller bumps are generally absorbed by the skull. The nature of a blow to the head makes initial diagnosis difficult, as suffers can seem completely unharmed immediately after the incident, only to feel the symptoms up to 48 hours later.

Acquired Brain Injuries can seriously challenge an individual’s quality of life, and there are many instances where a person’s abilities to be self-sustainable may have been lost. Re learning skills is an essential part of the process when dealing with an acquired brain injury, menial tasks such as tying shoelaces or cooking for yourself can become huge obstacles, and very frustrating for everyone involved. The diversity of brain injuries is vast in terms of severity, the Schumacher case has highlighted the true dangers of a high impact blow to the head.

Luke Griggs of the charity Headway had some insight into injuries such as Schumacher’s, “There is no hard and fast rule with head injuries. A seemingly innocuous injury can be fatal, as we have seen before with the sad situation with Natasha Richardson.” Griggs continued, “With severe head injuries one of the difficulties we have got is that the symptoms can be delayed. Bruising and swelling does not happen instantly and it may take time for the damage to occur. That’s why it’s important to seek medical help, even if there are no symptoms.”
NCC have an affinity with Headway, and have previously took part in a fundraising event to raise money for the charity. Michael Schumacher will no doubt be supported by the charity as well as family.

If you would like to learn more about Acquired Brain Injuries, NCC offer an Acquired Brain injuries course that focuses around a number of issues.