In 1992, you were......

Thanks. My neck has never been the same since, but it isn't too bad. If I'm doing tedious work while sitting down at a table, like soldering a lot of joints on a PCB, my neck will start to ache. The same goes for working on something over my head where I have to look up for extended periods of time, like replacing a light fixture on the ceiling. I also need to sleep with a pillow of a specific thickness and only on my side, else my neck will be wicked sore for the next day or two.

Things could have been a lot worse. The neurosurgeon told my parents that he didn't expect me to survive the surgery, and that if I did, I would probably be in a vegetative state. He (and everyone else) was shocked when I woke up from the anesthesia and was immediately lucid; talking to people like I'd just woken up from an ordinary nap. I didn't know what all the fuss was about at the time, because, while the doctor had expressed the seriousness of the situation to my parents, he downplayed the whole thing when he was talking to me about it just before the surgery; he made it sound like a minor thing (I was 17 at the time).

By the way, an epidural hematoma is the same thing that killed Natasha Richardson:

In 2009, actress Natasha Richardson (the wife of Liam Neeson) also died following a head trauma. She fell while skiing and hit her head. Reports say she laughed about it and refused medical treatment. About an hour later, however, she began to show signs of a serious problem. Two days later, she died.

Ms. Richardson had suffered an epidural hematoma, a bleeding outside of the dura mater. It is extremely common for people with this type of head injury to feel perfectly fine and lucid initially after hitting their head, but then to deteriorate rapidly, which is why it is sometimes called "talk and die syndrome."

Unlike a subdural hematoma, the underlying brain tissue isn't damaged. So, if the blood is drained immediately (within a few hours), the mortality rate is only 5 to 10%.

And Gary Coleman:

On May 26, 2010, Coleman was admitted to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, Utah in critical condition[63] after falling down the stairs at his Santaquin home and hitting his head, possibly after another seizure, and experiencing an epidural hematoma.[2] According to a hospital spokesman, Coleman was conscious and lucid the next morning, but his condition subsequently worsened.[1] By mid-afternoon on May 27, he was unconscious and on life support.[64] He died at 12:05 pm MDT (18:05 UTC) on May 28, 2010, at age 42.

The biggest problem in my case was that it had gone undiagnosed for about 3 days. If it had been properly diagnosed when I first went to the hospital after the accident, it wouldn't have been anywhere near as serious of a situation.

reply share

add reply

formatting help