Teen Suffered Injury In Skateboarding Accident

[Family Ties Forever!]

link

Teen Suffered Brain Injury In Skateboarding Accident

Posted: Thursday, July 14, 2011
Updated: 6:35 am CDT July 15, 2011

Houston -- Two Houston-area families issued a warning Thursday about the importance of wearing a helmet while riding anything on wheels, including skateboards.

Video:
•Team Joseph Stanton | www.caringbridge.org

"Who would have ever believed we would have ever been in this situation because of a skateboard?" said Terri Stanton. Stanton's son Joseph suffered a traumatic brain injury in June 2010 after falling from a skateboard in his Kingwood neighborhood. "He was just out in front of our house, down around the corner, and did nothing but fall off from his 6 feet 1 inch stature to the ground and suffered a massive, massive traumatic brain injury," Stanton said. Stanton said if her son who is an eight-time All-American swimmer, state record holder, state champion and Kingwood Park Varsity football player had been wearing a helmet, the outcome would probably have been different.

"It doesn't matter if you are on a bicycle, riding a skateboard or riding a horse, you have got to protect your brain. We have heard of so many traumatic brain injuries that occur on bicycles, roller blades and skateboards," Stanton said. The teenager was in a coma, treated at TIRR for two and a half months and is now undergoing home health therapy. His teammates volunteer to help during the home-therapy sessions. "The kids are supplying the muscle and the therapists are supplying the expertise, and between the two of them, they are doing miraculous things with Joseph," said his mother.

"I want people to know what we have gone through and realize that in a blink of an eye your lives can be changed forever. Not just your child's life, your loved ones life, but your entire family life and those around you, too, who love the one who is hurt. You just have to think for your kids until they are at an age where they can make wise decisions on their own. Everyone should be wearing a helmet while riding a skateboard," Stanton said.

Another teenager, Tara Csatlos, was also injured in a skateboarding accident days after Joseph last year. Csatlos' mother will be raffling off free helmets Saturday at a barbecue fundraiser for her daughter at the H-E-B on Barker Cypress and Highway 290 from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Csatlos was rushed by helicopter to the Texas Medical Center after falling from a skateboard. She also was not wearing a helmet. "I randomly went to ride a skateboard one day without a helmet and then, bam, it was an accident," said the 16-year-old.

She has a warning for teenagers who may not want to strap on helmets while riding. "You might think it is silly, stupid, not worth it, but it is totally worth it. It is a matter of life or death. Always wear your helmet no matter what, no matter what people think, no matter what you think. It will save your life," Tara Csatlos said. Joseph's mom writes about her son's recovery online. More than 1 million people logged on to read it during his recovery last year.

Copyright 2011 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved.

[Family Ties Forever!]

I wonder why there aren't helmet laws for riding skateboards.

[Brad Russ]

Originally Posted by Family Ties Forever!

I wonder why there aren't helmet laws for riding skateboards.

There definitely should be a law. This is not an isolated incident. If you go to youtube and type in skateboarding accidents, you'll literally get thousands of results. I watched a video many years back, where this kid was doing some idiotic stunt, jumping off of his roof with his skateboard, down onto the concrete below. He cracked his head open, and started to make a funny noise, before dying. Many others have died from skateboarding accidents as well, so there is absolutely no excuse for their not being a helmet law. The stunts that people do on skateboards, are 100 times more dangerous than riding a bike. Good thread Jen!

[Lee]

Someone else who should have been wearing a helmet is Natasha Richardson
when she was skiing in Quebec, Canada in March of 2009.