Posted on 03/19/2009 1:09:05 PM PDT by LottieDah
Tony-winning actress Natasha Richardson was killed by a blunt trauma to the head and her death was ruled an accident, the city Medical Examiner reported Thursday.
Richardson sustained an epidermal hematoma - a blood clot that forms upon impact and starts growing between the brain and the skull - after wiping out Monday on the bunny slope while skiing at a Canadian resort.
"This is a very treatable condition if you're aware of what the problem is and the patient is quickly transferred to a hospital," Dr. Keith Siller of New York University Langone Medical Center said. "But there is very little time to correct this."
Richardson gave no sign that she was seriously hurt until about an hour after she fell and twice turned down offers to take her to a doctor, witnesses said.
It wasn't until Richardson developed a pounding headache that she was rushed to a Montreal hospital.
The ME's finding came as Broadway prepared to dim its light in memory of Richardson.
For one minute starting at 8 p.m., marquees up and down the Great White Way will go dark as a tribute to Richardson, who died on Wednesday.
"The Broadway community is shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of our finest young actresses," said Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of The Broadway League.
Meanwhile, plans were being finalized for a family-centered funeral where actor husband Liam Neeson and their two sons can mourn with kin and close friends, sources said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
<And this is something that nearly all of us have done at one time without giving it another thought.
Yup. I had a co-worker who complained of a headache, but thought she should finish her work. Others urged her to go home, but she wanted the work to get done. She was wound up in the hospital that night and died the next day of an aneurysm. Now, aneurysms being what they are, it’s possible nothing could be done. Or, thinking it was just a bad headache, she wouldn’t have gone to the hospital anyway, but it does make you wonder about all the times you tell yourself ‘it’s nothing’ and carry on.
Yep, it sure makes you think.
That was a sad accident R.I.P. Natasha.
They had to have done a CT. She was diagnosed before the family flew her to New York. They knew that she was already brain dead. The family says they wanted her to die at home with her family and friends.
It is my understanding that Emergency medicine in Canada is top notch. It is when the procedures are not due to emergency, that the quality of care becomes questionable. She was a well known actress, and I am sure she got the very best care available.
Wonder how that is treated, since I keep reading how simple it is if caught in time. Also, reminds me of Star Trek IV, that's what Chekov was dying from and the 20th century doctors wanted to slice open his head...
Socialized medicine never had a chance if she refused medical attention after she fell, as has been reported.
I saw a few yesterday, along with some "too bad it wasn't her terrorist-loving mother" posts.
Generally the treatment is emergency surgery, where the skull is opened and the hematoma is removed. With the advent of computerized tomography (CT) it has been possible to become somewhat more conservative in patients with small hematoma and who has no serious neurological symptoms. However, an epidural hematoma with temporal location should in almost all cases be treated surgically.
Post 27 has a link on treatment.
I sure hope the medics involved have a signed ,witnessed refusal of care and transport.
Yup, unfortunately, she missed that ‘Golden Hour’ that is so critical in certain situations. Nothing that many of us haven’t done or wouldn’t do. Since I’m sure she had her own insurance and was not a citizen of Canada, she probably had everything medically possible. She wouldn’t have been using their coverage. I’d bet my firstborn that nothing was denied medically.
A friend told me of a motorcycle accident when the motorcycle fell right in front of his truck. The guy was worried about his bike and even got up. Ambulance was still called. Poor man later died.
I don’t think that the medics got to see her. I read that they were turned away by the ski patrol. That is why most paramedics will insist on seeing the patient, even if the patient does not want medical treatment.
It sounds like there are plenty of witnesses though, and the ski instructor followed protocol to a fault, even having her escorted back to the hotel.
Yeah. That’s why it’s called talk and die syndrome. It’s surprising what a small bump on the head can do if it’s a bump in the wrong spot.
People who keep asking about the helmet, the guy in the motorcycle accident was wearing a helmet. :( Just sad.
Bikers call helmets brain buckets. And they do deteriorate over time and need to be replaced. The cushion lining goes bad.
Hubby just said how much a person spends on their helmet depends on what they think their head is worth. The good ones are expensive.
It was not a "bunny slope". As per canadian news articles, she fell on the lower portion of the 6km Nansen trail ( "Nansen bas" on the Mont Tremblant Trail Map, ) which is rated "beginner". I had experience of this type of trail when I skied a few times in New England when I was in college. They resemble a back road of sorts, and you're supposed to have a leisurely scenic run out of it.
The first I ever heard this kind of thing happening was back in the 70’s when Barry Oakley of the Allman Brothers was in a motorcycle accident. He said he was fine and declined medical treatment. He went back to The Big House where three hours later he fell ill and was rushed to the hospital. He later died of cerebral swelling caused by a fractured skull. For some reason that left an indelible impression.
Probably not. A spleen injury can be the same way. A person can feel OK, but be dead a few hours later.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.