Jennaishealed.org

In case anyone missed it, Natasha Richardson died of complications from a head injury this week.  I just read about the autopsy results and I thought I’d comment briefly about it.  Here is a story about the results:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/19/natasha-richardson-mourne_n_176806.html

Basically, she seemed fine after the knock to her head (I believe she skiied into a tree), and they even refused the first ambulance to arrive because she seemed fine.  In reality, her brain was bleeding into the space around it in the skull.  As the skull filled with blood, it pushed down on the brain, forcing it out of the skull through the hole in the bottom where the spinal cord and blood supply vessels pass through to the neck.

Once the swelling gets bad enough, that supply of blood gets choked off, and death is certain.

All I can say is I hope something positive comes out of this.  I hate being one of those safety-first people who wants everyone in helmets, but I never let Cooper ride his bike without one (hes got a cool black one designed for hockey players I think), and he will NOT be playing soccer or tackle football when he gets older.

The brain is incredibly delicate, the consistency of jelly basically, and not to be toyed with.

The last thing I will say about this (yeah, right) is that it continues to amaze me that Jenna took a 4,000lb 4×4 truck to the side of her head at sixty five miles per hour, and is still around.  Cooper and i went to go get her yesterday and she is here for his birthday weekend, for five days.  Sometimes I lay in bed next to her, with my hand on her head, and think about what has gone on inside it.  There has been talk of atrophy, but I haven’t seen actual films of it, so I don’t know what her brain looks like anymore, or how much is left.

I just wish I could wave a magic wand and take it (the damage) all away.  Restore her, so she could have her old life back.  Then this Richardson thing happened, and I realize how lucky she was to have the awesome treatment she got at UAB back in Birmingham, and how lucky we all are to still have her around.

My heart and thoughts go out to the Richardson family, and all the other TBI victims and their familes who are injured every day but dont make the headlines.

I noticed these sitting on the library circ desk a while ago, but didn’t need a calendar so never bothered grabbing or looking closely at one.  Well last week I was at the desk signing Cooper up for an activity in the Children’s Room, and looked down at the stack of calendars on the desk there to see the date the activity was going to take place.  Lo and behold, there is a pic of Cooper on the frickin calendar!

Turns out they printed like 14,000 of them!

The pic was snapped at their fire safety day event last summer or so when we were sitting in the back of the ambulance they had there eating pizza.  Cooper was actually on the library website for a little while but they changed the pics and I missed getting a screenshot of the page before the change.  Anyway, they gave me a whole stack of the calendars if anyone wants one!

The “castle park” was closed both Saturday and Sunday, but we did get to go to his favorite restaurant, Golden Corral.  He likes it because of the soft-serve ice cream machine, but we are going to have to find another place to go because it is just awful, horrible food.  The place was busy as hell, however.  I can’t really make any judgements about the lousy taste in food of those people since I was there too, but it will be the LAST time we go.  Just awful.

I really miss “Fresh Choice” out in California.  They have one in Chicago I think, but that is a bit of a drive for just a salad…

Anyway, Jenna was sad to see us leave, but I’ll be back to pick her up on Friday to bring her back to Indiana for Cooper’s birthday.

I got her a giant 14″ clock that has the date in month, date, day format built into it in a digital display, which should help her to keep track of what day it is, as that is one thing she is always asking me.  I am constantly telling her to write things down, such as when she makes or recieves a phone call, when she takes her meds, goes to a therapy session, etc., and the new clock should make it easier to keep track of those things.  It is one thing she is going to need to be doing if she is ever going to be able to leave that place.

more later.

but i hit the wrong button on the camera and failed to capture the moment on “film” (memory card).

Anyway, we are hanging out in the hotel room watching Spongebob with Cooper.  Later we are going to the “Boo” Rochman Memorial Park here in Carbondale, which is a great little secret here in town.  It was built by Mr. Rochman’s family and friends after he was killed in a car accident near the site.  Actually I have mentioned it on here before.  Anyway, Cooper loves it.  It has a big wooden “castle” with all kinds of mazes and hiding spots, and a ton of fantasy (Rochman was a big Dungeons and Dragons fan) characters, wizards, dragons, etc., done in fiberglass and concrete.

More later!

Bringing Cooper this time, and Jenna has NO idea we are coming.  Tomorrow is our seventh wedding anniversary, so she should be super stoked to see us both.  Can’t wait to get there!