Posted on 03/17/2009 7:13:04 PM PDT by Borges
Natasha Richardson died Tuesday, a day after suffering a head injury in a Canadian skiing accident, a source close to her family told OK!. She was 45.
The magazine said on its Web site that Richardson's loved ones decided to take her off life support Tuesday after she was declared brain dead.
"The family is devastated," the source told OK!
The British-born actress was the daughter of stage and film great Vanessa Redgrave and the late director-producer Tony Richardson. She also was the sister of actress Joely Richardson and the wife of Northern Irish actor Liam Neeson, her co-star in the 1994 movie "Nell."
She had two sons with Neeson -- 13-year-old Micheal and 12-year-old Daniel.
Richardson appeared in the movies "Gothic," "Blow Dry," "The Parent Trap," "Haven," "Maid in Manhattan," "Asylum" and "The White Countess." She won a Tony Award for her work in the Broadway revival of the musical "Cabaret."
"Batman Begins," "Schindler's List" and "Michael Collins" star Neeson can be seen in the current release "Taken."
He left the Toronto set of his movie "Chloe" immediately to fly to Montreal where his wife was hospitalized after her accident, a representative for the film told IrishCentral.com.
The New York Daily News said Neeson accompanied Richardson on the flight home from Montreal to New York where her family gathered Tuesday to say goodbye to the actress.
Richardson reportedly sustained her injuries while skiing on a beginner slope at a Quebec resort with at least one of her sons.
Two. Why would any family choose so quickly to take their young healthy family member off life support within just a few days (if even that) of a brain injury? Why not give it time? What do they have to lose by waiting? Why not have the best brain surgeons in the USA consult and see if there are any options? Something seems very off here. It would be one thing if she died on her own. That is not what has happened here.
I understand this is a tragedy and even more so for her suffering family. But I am saying a few days and just throw her away. It didn't seem right before I listened to Dr. Bauden, but now it really smells a bit off. Death is a permanent thing. Taking one off life support is a big decision and one that certainly shouldn't be given a day to think about if at all.
My dad was on life support for months and then he awoke and came back to life.
I know we do not know the situation, but I am posing the questions many of us must be scratching our heads about.
This is very sad. Although I wrote a critical previous post. My heart goes out to the Liam and their children as well as the families. Bless Natasha’s soul.
Heart breaking.
Thank you, nice pics. Such a tragedy.
Post 52 has an explanation.
Wow. Thanks for sharing this. This is very sad.
You might want to add an Atlas or globe to your stimulus shopping list.
Dreadful. Apparently a wonderful mother, wife and woman.
Thank you for the pictures, Pharmboy. Very, very sad. Prayers for her sons and husband.
but she did not die. She was taken off life support. I can see if she had died on her own, but from all reports this is not the case. Might she been able to have the epidural clot removed and have some chance at recovery? Why would any head patient be so bad within a day that life support removal would be an option? Couldn’t they at least have attempted removal? I have to wonder at how poor the health care may have been for her initially.
The ski resort insisted she get medical attention but she refused, laughing it off. They asked her to sign a form indicating that she had refused treatment. She signed.
Her instructor went back to the hotel with her and she deteriorated. I understand, if a bleeding hematoma is not attended to immediately, the results can be serious enough to cause death.
Yes he discusses a condition in which the patient dies. He does not describe a situation in which a patient is so bad they have to be taken off life support within a day or two. Death is one thing. Possible brain death and doing everything one can to make sure there are no other options is another. I am obviously upset at such a quick decision by the family. I have been in this situation before and wanted to just let them go. I was wrong. Very wrong. They lived and awoke months later against all odds—even more so than hers. This was a seventy year old man with Parkinsons and not a healthy lady.
Not too sure when or where you last went skiing but headgear has become quite commonplace, especially as insurance rates have climbed for ski resorts and as more snowboarders take to the slopes. A few years back, saw almost all the kids and about one-third the adults wearing helmets on the slopes.
Eight years ago, a boarder ran right into a friend, whose ski was tripped up on a boulder; he tore up his shoulder and ankle but he was thankful to be wearing a helmet.
May God bless the lovely Natasha Richardson.
The clot cuts off blood flow to the brain. The brain dies.
Yes. I understand. I certainly am going to buying a helmet for skiing next year. If this can happen on a bunny hill, that is tragic. Thanks for responding to my post. I hope if anyone on here ever has the same thing happen they get a cat scan immediately. So sad. I just happen to watch her on the Parent Trap on Saturday and I guess just seeing her in something makes me want so badly to fight for her and for her life.
“Richardson reportedly sustained her injuries while skiing on a beginner slope.”
It does sound strange. I don’t see how that could happen on any beginner’s slope I’ve ever seen.
In any case, it’s sad news.
Absolutely, why not? Skiers know that when they are learning they fall. And some slopes, especially the one she was on are know to have a lot of ice which is like concrete.
But even experienced skiers fall or run into trees and rocks. Think and you’ll remember a number of famous people who have died skiing. They all die of head injuries.
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