In 1990, a fateful bicycle ride in Saco, Maine, started off like any other, but eventually led to a traumatic brain injury that altered the life of Earlene ‘Kitty’ Ahlquist Chadbourne. Kitty lost many memories and the ability to perform skills she formerly executed with ease. After her accident, she didn’t even recognize her own… Read More
Teenager’s miraculous recovery from traumatic brain injuries
An 18-year-old who had recently graduated from St. Francis High School in St. Francis, Minnesota, received multiple traumatic brain injuries when a drunk driver hit him. According to an article in the Duluth News Tribune, Alex Balluff ‘was left in a vegetative state, his mother said, with severe brain injuries and contusions to his right… Read More
Horse racing jockey works toward full recovery from spinal cord injury
Michael Straight, a 24-year-old horseracing jockey from East Greenbush, NY, is showing promising signs of recovery from an August 26, 2009 accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury. An article in the Times Union reported that Straight was injured during a race at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois. His horse fell and threw… Read More
Update on snowboarder Kevin Pearce: consciousness returns, still in serious condition
Last week we reported on Kevin Pearce, the Olympic-hopeful snowboarder who endured a severe traumatic brain injury while training on a frozen halfpipe at Park City, Utah for an Olympics qualifier. Pearce hit his head on the hard icy wall of the halfpipe while attempting to land a cab double cork. In the middle of… Read More
Company designs handheld device to diagnose brain injuries
SFC Fluidics, a company in Fayetteville, Arkansas, has recently been awarded $5 million in funds from a federal contract to produce a handheld device to diagnose traumatic brain injuries in minutes. Questions have arisen recently over the efficacy of current methods of identifying and diagnosing traumatic brain injuries in head injury and concussion victims. The… Read More
Canadian scientists designing helmet to prevent spinal cord injuries
Helmet use has been on the rise in recent years. Public awareness of the need to prevent spinal cord injuries in addition to traumatic brain injuries in sports ranging from skiing and hurling to bicycling and car racing has led to new research and development on helmet design. Technological advancements in helmets are being developed… Read More