Oslo Bomb Victim, Who Had Wood Spike In Her Head, Is Back At Work

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Posted on 31st July 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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The photo was horrifying, played up in bloody color in the New York City tabloids Saturday.

The image was of Line Nersnaes, a Norwegian civil servant. There is a wood spike about half-a-foot long sticking out of her bloody forehead. The Daily News described her as “looking like a bleeding unicorn.”  And she did.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2011/07/29/2011-07-29_norway_massacre_victim_had_footlong_spike_in_her_head_after_bombing_but_now_is_b.html

Nersnaes was wounded July 22 when Anders Behring allegedly set off a bomb near her Oslo office. The frame of her office window broke into flying wood splinters. One of those projectiles, “a foot-long splinter pierced her jaw and exited through the top of her forehead,” according to the News. “Remarkably, it missed her brain.”

In fact, Nersnaes didn’t even realize she had the spike protruding out of her head until her boss pointed it out, much to her horror. She said that she did have a bad headache as she was escaping her building, but at that point didn’t realize exactly why.

Nersnaes is already back at work, wearing a bandage around her head. The News said it took 27 stitches to suture her head wound.

  

Ivy League Puts Stringent Anti-Concussion Rules On Its Football Teams

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Posted on 25th July 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Ivy League schools are taking a very smart approach to cutting down on the number of concussions that their football teams suffer, according to the Associated Press. And they’re to be applauded for it.

The Ivy League teams will only be permitting their football players to have two “full contact” practices each week, whereas the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)  permits five.

http://www.nj.com/princeton/index.ssf/2011/07/ivy_league_sets_new_standard_i.html

The eight Ivy League colleges are apparently trying to take a leadership role as far as concussion-safety measures, and their presidents signed off on a number of recommenations made by a special committee.

These recommendations will be operative this season, and will “also limit contact workouts to one during preseason two-a-day workouts,” according to AP.

As part of these brain-injury precautions, players will be instructed on correct tackling methods, the symptoms of concussions and the long-term effect of repeated brain injury.

The Ivy League also plans to crack down, and carefully scrutinize, helmet-to-helmet hits, suspending players when warranted.

The committee was co-chaired by college presidents who also happen to be medical doctors, namely Dartmouth President Jim Yong Kim and Cornell President David Skorton. That perhaps contributed to the very prudent moves that the Ivy League is making, which are more stringent than the NCAA’s guidelines.

In fact, it appears that the Ivy League may even be going a bit beyond what the National Football League has said about brain injury. Basically, the committee acknowledged that repeated hits to the head, even if they don’t cause a concussion, can lead to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in some players. CTE leads to memory loss, depression and other problems for those who have it.

AP then quoted Kim.

“Given the lack of data regarding the number or type of hits that may cause long-term consequences in certain individuals, the committee concluded that it is important to minimize the likelihood and severity of hits to the head,” Kim said.        

Right on, Kim.

Bret Michaels’ Lawsuit Over Tony Award Head Injury To Be Heard In New York

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Posted on 10th July 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Rocker and reality TV star Bret Michaels’ lawsuit against CBS and the producers of the Tony Award telecast will be heard in New York, according to The New York Times.  The producers had asked for the matter to be litigated in the Big Apple. 

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/rock-stars-lawsuit-against-tony-awards-is-moved-to-new-york/?scp=1&sq=bret%20michaels&st=cse

Michaels, the frontman for Poison and a winner of  “Celebrity Apprentice,” filed suit after he was hit in the head by a backdrop when he was leaving the stage after performing at the 2009 Tony Awards show. As The Times pointed out, Michaels at the time of the accident downplayed its seriousness, saying that he only got a fractured nose and a couple of stitches on his lip.

But in court papers, Michaels is now blaming that head injury for causing a brain hemorrhage that nearly killed him in April 2010. The lawsuit also claims that CBS shouldn’t have televised the accident, which ended up as a clip that went viral on the Internet.

Last Tuesday U.S. District Court Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles ruled that Michaels’ lawsuit should be handled in New York, where the witnesses and evidence in the case are located.  

 

NHL’s Paul Kariya Retires After Sustaining Brain Injury From Concussions

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Posted on 3rd July 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Anaheim Ducks hockey player Paul Kariya had some critical words for the National Hockey League when he announced he was retiring because of brain damage he’s sustained during  his career on the ice.

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nhl/news/story?id=6716981

Kariya was a star player, from college on, by anyone’s measure. He won an award for hockey when he was at the University of Maine, and was on Team Canada in the Olympics, winning a coveted gold medal in 2002, according to ESPN.com.

But the rest of his time playing hockey was not as easy. He was forced to miss the whole 2010-2011 season because he had post-concussion symptoms. And physicians have determined that Kariya sustained brain damage from his prior concussions.

According to ESPN.com, Kariya got that bad news last season from Dr. Mark Lovell, described as a top concussion doctor. Lovell told Kariya back then he wished the talented hockey would retire on the spot.

Kariya is quoted as saying he was shocked by this bad news.

He sustained his first concussion in 1996 and then had another in 1998. He also suffered a concussion in December 2009, in a dirty play by Buffalo player Patrick Kaleta. Kaleta hit Kariya with a blindside elbow, but did not get suspended for that illegal act. 

“It’s been a little disappointing that in the time I’ve been in the league, nothing much has beendone to stop that,” Kariya told ESPN.com. “We shouldn’t be having this conversation right now.”

Best-selling author Dr. Daniel Amen has been working with Kariya to try to mend his brain. Using tools such as hyperbaric chambers and other exercises, Kariaya has “jumped from the 20th to the 80th percentile in brain damage,” according to ESPN.com.

While the NHL has made some moves to try to stop players from making illegal headshots that often cause concussions, it hasn’t done near as much as it should have. Kariya is all too right.  

Springsteen Sideman Clarence Clemons Dies of Complications Of Stroke

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Posted on 19th June 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen’s saxophonist sideman, died Saturday of complications from a stroke he suffered nearly a week ago.   

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/arts/music/clarence-clemons-e-street-band-saxophonist-dies-at-69.html?scp=2&sq=clarence%20clemons&st=cse

Clemons, who was 69, had undergone several surgeries in Palm Beach, Fla., after sustaining a stroke last Sunday. Unfortunately, the surgery obviously failed to save Clemons, known as “the Big Man” and a key member of Springsteen’s E Street Band.

Clemons certainly was a large man and he lived a large life. He was 6-feet-4 inches and weighed 250 pounds. He had a magnetic presence on the stage. He was married five times. He acted in a Martin Scorsese movie. He jammed with President Bill Clinton. He most recently played on Lady Gaga’s new album “Born This Way.”

The story of how Clemons met Springsteen is legend. It was 1971, and the Boss was playing at a bar in Asbury Park during a terrible storm. As Clemons walked into the bar “the wind blew the door off its hinges, and Mr. Springsteen was startled by the towering shadow at the door,” according to The New York Times.

Clemons got on stage and starting playing with Springsteen, and the rest was history. 

 

Actor Jeff Conaway Dies After Being Placed In A Coma

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Posted on 30th May 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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 Actor Jeff Conaway’s tragic life came to an end Friday, when he died after being taken off life support at Encino Hospital Medical Center. He was 60, and will probably now best be remembered for his appearances on “Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew,” which obviously didn’t succeed in rehabilitating him. 

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-jeff-conaway-20110528,0,3260841,full.story

Last week doctors had essentially determined that Conaway, who has had problems with drugs for years, was brain dead. He was admitted to the hospital May 10, unconscious and with pneumonia, after ingesting a bad combination of prescribed drugs. He was placed in a medically induced coma at the hospital.

Conaway was a handsome blond who came to fame and fortune playing in the late 1970s and early 1980s as a not-too-bright struggling actor in the hit show “Taxi,” and performing in both the Broadway and film versions of “Grease.”

But he was not happy with his success. He broke his “Taxi” contract because he didn’t like playing “a blond bimbo,” according to The Los Angeles Times. And the lead role that he played in Broadway in “Grease,” Danny Zuko, was cast with John Travolta. Conaway got a lesser part.

Conaway complained of being depressed during his stint on “Taxi,” and said he started using drugs at age 15, when he was in a band.

In recent years the actor rose to prominence, or notoriety, when he was one of the celebrities on Dr. Drew’s show in 2008. According to the Times, “He was so intoxicated the morning he checked in that subtitles were required to translate his slurred speech.”

Conaway, looking like a train wreck, had become addicted to cocaine and pain medications after back surgery. He later claimed that he had essentially hammed it during his tantrums and arguments on “Celebrity Rehab,” but just looking at him told you he was in big trouble.

And so he was.

   

  

Conaway

Actor Jeff Conaway Is In A Coma After Drug Overdose

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Posted on 19th May 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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If this isn’t a cautionary tale, I don’t know what is. 

Jeff Conaway, a once-handsome actor who made his name in the sitcom “Taxi” and most recently was a train wreck on “Celebrity Rehab,” is in a coma after an apparent drug overdose. He has struggled with addiction for years.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2011/05/jeff-conaway-overdose-coma-hospitalized-taxi-celebrity-rehab-with-dr-drew.html

He went into a coma Wednesday and was hospitalized at Encino Hospital Medical Center.

Conaway, with his blond good looks, built a career playing not-too-bright leading men. In addition to “Taxi,” he portrayed Danny Zuko on “Grease” on Broadway, a role that John Travolta landed in the film. Conaway was in the movie, but played another role.

On Dr. Drew Pinsky’s “Celebrity Rehab,”  60-year-old Conaway provided a lot of drama as he struggled with withdrawal and fought with his fellow celebs. He had become addicted to cocaine and pain pills when he had back surgery.

The actor later claimed that he had acted ornery and created a lot of unpleasant scenes on “Celebrity Rehab” because that’s what the show’s producers wanted. That actually shouldn’t be much of surprise: Reality TV shows are anything but real.

Conaway has obviously battled a lot of demons in his life. Let’s hope he survives his most recent relapse.

     

Sex And Coffee, And Constipation, May Trigger Brain Hemorrhages

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Posted on 15th May 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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If you like sex and coffee, you may be at greater risk for a brain hemorrhage, according to a study published earlier this month by the journal Stroke.

http://stroke.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/STROKEAHA.110.606558v1

The Netherlands study sought to find out what triggers the rupture of brain aneurysms, which result in hemorrhagic strokes. An aneurysm, as The Los Angeles Times explained, is a weak point in one of the brain’s blood vessels. Those can burst due to stress, causing internal bleeding. But researchers wanted to find out what kind of stresses prompt such hemorrhaging.  

 http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/05/news/la-heb-brain-aneurysm-20110505

To try to identify specifically what causes these ruptures, during a three-year period the study had 250 people who had suffered subarachnoid hemorrhages complete a questionnaire on 30 “potential trigger factors” during the period before the person had his or her hemorrhage. 

The study ultimately identified eight triggers: coffee consumption; cola consumption; anger; being startled; “straining for defecation”; sexual intercourse; nose blowing; and vigorous physical exercise.

 The highest population-attributable risks were found for coffee consumption (10.6 percent) and vigorous physical exercise (7.9 percent).

The study’s conclusion?

“We identified and quantified eight trigger factors for aneurysmal rupture,” it said. “All triggers induce a sudden and short increase in blood pressure, which seems a possible common cause for aneurysmal rupture. Some triggers are modifiable, and further studies should assess whether reduction of exposure to these factors or measures preventing sudden increase in blood pressure decrease the risk of rupture in patients known to have an intracranial aneurysm.”

 

Golfer Seve Ballesteros Dies Of Brain Cancer

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Posted on 14th May 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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A week ago champion golfer Seve Ballesteros, known for his “swashbuckling” style and for winning five major titles in his sport, died of complications of brain cancer. He was only 54.   

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-seve-ballesteros-20110508,0,477261.story

His unfortunate death is worth noting, in that it demonstrates the difficulty of beating brain cancer, which appears to be a particularly resilient strain of this disease.  

Ballesteros died in the Spanish fishing town where he was born, Pedrena.

His cancer was discovered after he became dizzy, and then unconscious for a short period, while in a Madrid airport in October 2008.  Ballesteros had four operations to cut out his malignant brain tumor.

 He was handsome, and had a dramatic career, even if it was brief. He stunned when, at age 22, he won the 1979 British Open. He did it “with a birdie he crafted on No. 16 despite teeing off into a temporary parking lot, where the ball landed 2 feet from a car,” according to The Los Angeles Times.

 RIP Seve.

Deceased Singer Phoebe Snow’s Two Battles With Brain Injury

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Posted on 1st May 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Singer Phoebe Snow, a New Jersey native who was a one-hit wonder with her song “Poetry Man,” had to deal with two brain-damage tragedies during her life. And both probably contributed to her death last week at age 60. 

 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/arts/music/phoebe-snow-bluesy-singer-songwriter-dies-at-58.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=phoebe%20snow&st=cse

Her death in Edison, N.J., was caused by complications of what some called a stroke, and others called a cerebral hemorrhage, back in January 2010.

But Snow had to deal with brain-related illness long before her own medical problems. She gave birth to a daughter in 1975 who suffered from what one media report called severe brain damage, namely hydrocephalus.

Snow spent much of her life caring for her daughter, Valerie, after she sought — in vain — to find help for her.

“I went through phases of the occult and of trying to find every single doctor in the country who could possibly do something,”  Snow once said, according to The New York Times obituary of her. “I realize now that I can’t move mountains.”

Surely, Snow’s remark must strike a cord with other parents who have a child with any kind of brain injury. 

Snow wouldn’t lock her daughter, who wasn’t expected to have a long life span, away in an institution. But Valerie did live quite awhile, to age 31, dying in 2007.

Shock jock Howard Stern, in a unusually tender moment, last week dedicated his show to his memories of Snow, according to David Hinckley, who does a radio column in The New York Daily News.  

Stern speculated that Snow “died of a broken heart” — in that she was devastated by the death of her daughter. Stern said Valerie had become the “passion” in Snow’s life, who basically put her career on the back burner to take care of her child, according to Hinkley.

It’s a sad irony that Snow, like her daughter, was ultimately killed by a brain injury, just like her daughter. 

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