Skull Fractures- Rethinking the helemet thing...

[turbophil]

Hey All-

I would normally be at work right now sifting through stock market data and developing financial plans. However, today I'm at home with a 5 inch gash on the side of my head and a skull fracture that's about an inch long

I was out for a pretty aggressive slalom ski this weekend when two cruisers thought they would come up and watch. I was focusing more on the water and less on the incoming wakes... I guess when I hit the wakes, I crashed in a way that both bindings stayed on my feet but the ski still hit my head so hard that it cut clean through the muscle and skin with enough force to then fracture my skull. There's a bunch of muscle that conects to our gaw and an artery up there that caused me to lose a bunch of blood. It's weird because I only remember skiing and then I remember being in the life flight. Apparently, there was about an hour in between... I was in the hospital for about 24 hours.

I'm still pretty dizzy and the doc says that I have to take a week off driving, work (not good in my biz), heavy lifting, stress, etc... I also have to stay out of the water for at least two weeks to avoid infection since there's a direct path to my brain...I've never broken a bone, but now I can say that I've broken my head

So I'm a little bummed right now. I'm like many of you. I've been skiing and doing other water sports for 20 years and have never had something like this happen. That said, I'm giving some serious thought to using a helmet from now on...

Just thought I would share my story. Be safe out there!

Phil

P.S.- I've been testing my new Nordskog GPS speedo for two weeks now, and highly recommend it. The cosistantly accurate speed regardless of the day and the direction the boat is going is so nice. It's helped me improve quite a bit....until this weekend anyway

[Daniel]

I recently bought a helmet. I have come up dizzy from hard spills more times than I'd like to think about. My living is using my brain (scary isn't it), and I have to conserve what little I have left. You loose a little of the cool factor, but I'm married and ugly to boot , so I'm not really out to impress any one, I'm just out to have fun.

Daniel

[JohnDoe]

Turbo, that sounds awful. Have you started to look into helmets? When you do, post what you found out and why you selected the one you did. I can't really picture a slalom helmet, but I want to see one. Good Luck!

[WakeGirl]

Wow, that is awful. I hope that you heal well from that. FWIW, I bought a helmet a few weeks ago, since my best move is the headplant (I'm very good at it). This is the one that I bought, it came recommended by others here & after taking a nasty spill last night I can give it the thumbs up:

http://www.wakeside.com/page/W/PROD/wakebo...ace_wake_helmet

[88Skier]

Sorry to hear that. Hope you recover quickly. I've never seen a slalom skier with a helmut, but have seeing a lot of kids wearing them while wakeboarding in the SkiUSA magazine. We're primarily skiers, but my kids like to board and the board we have has sharp edges. I have been wondering if they should be wearing helmuts.

My nephew fell and hit the ski a few years back and ended up with a broken nose, cheek bone and crushed eye socket. A helmut wouldn't have helped him unless it was a full motor cyclelike helmut.

Is anybody wearing helmuts while skiing?

[superjet]

My son has that same Pro-tec helmet for competitions. I picked it up at Gart Sports for around $20 just before last winter. So far so good.

You can also look into kayaking helmets.

Hope you have a speedy recovery.

Edited July 12, 2005 by superjet

[J_Gled]

Sorry to hear about your accident, I hope you are able to recover quickly!

I had an accident when I was about 7 or 8 where I took a pretty bad spill on a single ski, more of a slide out than an over the front. The ski came around and hit me on the back of the head and caused a slight cut(4 stitches). I realized I hit my head but didn't know I was cut until I was back in the boat. It wasn't a big deal and it never kept me from skiing but it can happen. A helmet would have helped my situation but I am more concerned about the over the front jobs where you can get a face full of ski tip.

[Useless_Male]

get a downhill skiing helmet...

[WakeGirl]

That would be hot, & not in a good way. How about one of those helmets that the PWC racers wear? Also, on the Pro Tec helmet, there are 2 versions - the one I linked to has the good ear flappers (removeable) & provides a bit more coverage, the other one is more basic:

Pro Tec Ace Wake Helmet (linked above)

Pro Tec Ace Water Helmet

[M3Fan]

I slalom with the ace wake with the ear flaps. Great helmet. You can't tell it's there until you see all the goofy looking pictures of you. I mainly have it for the ear protection. It is also QUITE warm in the fall and spring, a great substitute for a dive hood. I'd say if a wakeboarder wears it at 22 mph, then it would make sense for a slalom skier who could be crossing the wake at 35-55 mph or more who is riding longer, pointier implement to wear one. Might make it harder for the handle to accidentally go around your head also- or easier?

My only concern is the edge of the helmet catching somehow and breaking my neck- I'm assuming that the viscosity of water is such that this probably wouldn't happen, but that is my only concern.

[Daniel]

That would be hot, & not in a good way.  How about one of those helmets that the PWC racers wear?  Also, on the Pro Tec helmet, there are 2 versions - the one I linked to has the good ear flappers (removeable) & provides a bit more coverage, the other one is more basic:

Pro Tec Ace Wake Helmet (linked above)

Pro Tec Ace Water Helmet

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I bought the cheap one, and not one headache since.

Daniel

[turbophil]

Thanks for all the feedback! I'm taking a hard look at the Ace Wake and the Capix. The Capix may not be the ticket with the bill in the back (looks good though)....Not sure if it would catch water on a spill...the Ace Wake will surely do the trick though.

This is my 3rd concussion (albeit, the first time I've actually broken my cranium!) , so the doc says that I need to be more careful about head injuries in the future... (Something about head injuries having a cumulative effect)

As someone else mentioned, I also have one of those jobs that requires the use of brain over brawn...

Has anyone tried a Capix brain bucket?

[summergirl]

Hope you are feeling better. That is a nasty injury.

We have the wake ace with ear flaps. Nothing worse than a broken ear drum other than a cracked skull.

Our friend had a Capix hat with the bill at the back and he found it to be awkward to wear and thought the bill in the back could do damage if hit the right way. Sold it and changed over to the wake ace with earflaps.

When we put on our helmets for skiing, boarding ect, we have a saying "Safety first".

[turbophil]

Hope you are feeling better. That is a nasty injury.

We have the wake ace with ear flaps. Nothing worse than a broken ear drum other than a cracked skull.

Our friend had a Capix hat with the bill at the back and he found it to be awkward to wear and thought the bill in the back could do damage if hit the right way. Sold it and changed over to the wake ace with earflaps.

When we put on our helmets for skiing, boarding ect, we have a saying "Safety first".

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Good point. Looking at the X-ray of my skull and the long line of stiches above my ear, I'm now also thinking "safety first".... I'll be buying the Ace tomorrow...

Phil

[summergirl]

Glad you are getting a helmet. Just make sure that you get the one with the ear flaps. Blown eardrums are just as painful.

My father-in-law sky ski's with a group in Havasu in October and they are all over the age of seventy. You should see some of the safety gear that they wear.

Helmet

Neck brace

Padded life jacket

Back brace

and some wear knee braces.

He says it takes them along time to get ready. "Safety first"

[doughickey]

Comments on the ProTec models. (I use the Ace Wake...the one with the removable ear flaps... relly like it.) Love it.

ProTec has changed the helmets between 2004 and 2005. I suggest you try and get the 2005 model.

The difference:

2004: They only had 2 sizes last year. The S/M and the L/XL. They provided lots of optional padding that you add yourself for a custome fit. Several colors including black, silver, red, yellow, blue.

2005: This year they have 4 sizes, and an added rear internal support for the back of your head. The sizes are S, M, L, XL. I just picked up one for my son, and made sure I got the 2005 model. For him, we picked the bright canary yellow. He's under 10, and I wanted him as visible as possible in the water. The other colors were black and blue. After buying and using, he says it feels great.... feels safer trying to board. I then proceeded to watch him do a hard fall, smacking the side of his head on the water. Glad he got the ear flaps.... that's how his old man ripped my ear drum last time... stupid low speed side fall.

I also suggest getting the Ace Wake (vs Ace Water). Seems to have a bit more padding... and you can always just snap off the soft fabric ear pads anyway.

[CarveItUp]

I bought one last September and ended up exchanging the XL for a Large. They seem to be much looser in the water. I guess they must have released the 2005s last Fall?