‘Monster’s Ball’ Screenwriter Hit In Head By Manhattan Subway

0 comments

Posted on 2nd November 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

, , , ,

 An Oscar-nominated screenwriter was in critical but stable condition after being hit in the head by a subway train in Manhattan this weekend.

Will Rokos, who wrote the script for “Monster’s Ball,” was clipped in the head while leaning over the subway platform at the 14th Street station by a No. 2 train Saturday. He was trying to peek down the tunnel to see if the train was approaching.  

 http://www.polijam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=35732:screenwriter-injured-by-ny-subway-train&catid=57:entertainment&Itemid=56

 http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/11/monsters_ball_screenwriter_sur.html

The train was speeding into the station, and hit Rokos. He was sent crashing into the station platform, where bystanders found him.

According to press reports Rokos, 57, was semi-conscious and awake when police arrive at the scene. He was then transported to Bellevue Hospital.  

Rokos was nominated for an Academy Award in 2002 for “Monster’s Ball,” the film that netted an Oscar for actress Hallie Berry. She became the first black actess to win an Oscar in the Best Actress category.

NFL Considers Socking Players With Suspensions For Helmet Hits

0 comments

Posted on 19th October 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

, , , , ,

After a spate of player concussions and injuries this past weekend, it looks like the National Football League is poised to crack down on players who made hard head hits during games.

Several press accounts, including one in The New York Times Tuesday, reported that the NFL would mete out tough penalties and possibly even suspend players who inflicted dangerous blows to the heads of other players. NFL executive vice president of operations Ray Anderson warned of the coming actions Monday. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/sports/football/19hits.html?_r=1&ref=sports

 The NFL should take action after the long list of shenanigans last Sunday. After being hit in the helmet Detroit Lions linebacker Zack Follett was hosptialized overnight. Pittsburgh Steelers player James Harrison “knocked two Cleveland Brown players out of the game with head injuries,” according to The Times.

And the topper seems to have been New England’s Brandon Meriweather, who was penalized for his hit on Baltimore’s Todd Heap.

The Times quoted Anderson as saying that the league didn’t want another Darryl Stingley incident on its watch, referring to the New England Patriots player who was paralyzed in a 1978 hit and died in 2007. 

There is even talk of suspensions for helmet-to-helmet hits, a suggestion made on-air Sunday by former NFL player Rodney Harrison, who had a reputation as a hard-hitting — even dirty– player during his career. According to The Times,  Harrison said that that suspensions, not fines, “got his attention” when he was playing.

 The NFL competition committee might even consider barring all hits that invovle using a helmet, The Times reported.

Family Of Marine Coma Victim Help Canine ‘Marine’ Overcome PTSD

0 comments

Posted on 8th October 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

, , ,

 The family of a hero Marine, who was died after being in a coma, is  now trying to help another “Marine” get over his post-traumatic stress disorder from combat in Afghanistan. The Marine with the PTSD is Gunner, a bomb-sniffing dog. 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703859204575525991305561822.html?mod=ITP_TEST

The Wall Street Journal this week wrote the story about Deb and Dan Dunham, who have adopted the Labrador retriever and are trying to help him recover from the trauma of combat.  

The Dunhams, who live in Scio, N.Y., are getting over their own emotional heartache, according to The Journal. In 2004 their 22-year-old Marine son, Corporal Jason Dunham, during combat in Iraq threw his helmet over a live granade to protect two of his men. They walked away with wounds, but Jason took a piece of scrapnel in his brain. He went into a coma, The Journal reported.   

Jason stayed alive and was brought to a naval hospital in Maryland, but the Durhams were told that their son would not regain consciousness. The family had him taken off life support, as per the wishes he expressed before he went overseas. Jason won a Medal of Honor for his heroism.

Gunner, in turn, was trained to find explosives and was deployed to Afghanistan. But combat duty eventualy proved too much for the dog, and it was decided he needed to be shipped back to the states.

The Journal did separate stories about the Dunhams and Gunner, and family was among those that told the Marines they wanted to adopt the dog. The Dunhams got Gunner, and The Journal story describes how the family is helping him get over his PTSD, just as he is helping them deal with the loss of their son. 

Post Coma, Two Brain Injury Victims Succeed With Their Recoveries

0 comments

Posted on 5th October 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

, , ,

I’ve dedicated my life to being an advocate for brain injury victims, and it’s been a rewarding calling. And it also has its challenges.

While medicine has made strides in the treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury patients, brain injury is not like breaking a bone. Making a full recovery, to return to your prior level of function, is not easy and is not often typical. The refrain I and my associates hear from TBI victims is often the same: “I want my life back.”

Unfortunately, no one can give them their lives back. But in some cases, they can grab back their lives themselves. 

It’s always heartening when I get a case where a TBI victim make a remarkable recovery, and when I hear about other upbeat stories, I like to share them. And here are two.

The first case is that of Bryan Steinhauer, who sustained severe brain injuries when he was beat up near Binghamton University in 2008. The New York Daily News did a profile of Steinhauer Sunday, which was headlined “How He Beat The Serb Monster: Survives Coma & Heads For Dream Job.”

   http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/10/03/2010-10-03_its_the_biggest_thing_for_me__to_reclaim_my_life.html

Steinhauer two years ago was assaulted by three men, including Miladin Kovacevic, for dancing with one of their girlfriends. “Doctors didn’t know if he would be able to speak again, let alone if he would live,” according to the News.

Steinhauer was in a coma for three months, and has “undergone thousands of hours of speech and physical therapy,”  the News reported. It paid off, because Steinhauer is about to start work at KPMG, the accounting firm. Kovacevic, in turn, is about to start a prison sentence for assault.

Steinhauer’s mentor at the Greater New York Hospital Association, Lee Perlman, had this to say about the 24-year-old TBI survivor’s recovery.

“It’s mind-boggling,” Perlman told the News. “It is arguably one if the most inspiring, resilient shows of force that I could ever imagine.”

Steinhauer, who walks with a limp and talks slowly since his assault, goes to Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan once a month to speak with brain trauma patients and offer them encouragement. 

The second inspiring case is that of Jenna Philips, a Carmel, Calif., teen who fell 14 feet through a barn ceiling and landed on her head, knocked unconscious. She came out of her coma a day later, according to AOL, and had two brain contusions and a rightside skull fracture.

http://www.lemondrop.com/2010/09/29/how-i-recovered-from-brain-damage/?icid=main%7Cmain%7Cdl3%7Csec1_lnk3%7C174444

Against the advice of her doctors, Jenna returned to high school three weeks after her fall. In addition to her regular lessons, she was also undergoing cognitive therapy for her brain injury.

In “How I Recovered From Brain Damage,” Jenna is very articulate, and does a good job describing the successes, and failures, of her recovery. It was not easy.

But Jenna did go on to college, majoring in nutrition, and now has her own business, Mission Possible, an outdoor fitness program.

“I learned how to listen to my body, and understand what it needs,” Jenna told AOL. “I also learned how to persevere, and that with perseverance, anything is possible.”

 

New York Good Samaritan Dies Of Brain Aneurysm After Failed Rescue Attempt

0 comments

Posted on 22nd September 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

, ,

When Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death despite her cries for help, it added to the perception of New Yorkers as being heartless and cold. But Richard Bermudez was anything but that: The bus driver’s Good Samaritan efforts last Thursday to help a woman have led to his death.

Bermudez, just days before he was set to get married and a month before his retirement, suffered a brain aneurysm after the strain of trying to rescue a woman after a tornado swept through Queens last week. He had been put on a ventilator, and his family had him taken off it three days later, becaue he had told them he never wanted to live on a machine, according to the New York Post.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/storm_tragic_hero_inbNBz4NowHbonA3H2abuO

Bermudez desperately tried to help a woman, Aline Levakis, who was trapped in her car after a tree fell and crushed it during the tornado. She died at the scene.

Bermudez was distraught when he failed to rescue Levakis, and began to complain of headaches and of feeling ill. He was riding in a co-worker’s car when he slumped down, according to The Post, and was brought to Queens General Hospital.  

Bermudez, who had high blood pressure, had an aneurysm, a blood vessel in his brain has burst. He was placed on the ventilator, and had been deemed brain dead.  

 

Good Samaritan Suffers Brain Aneurysm After Helping Woman During Queens Tornado

0 comments

Posted on 19th September 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

, ,

In this sad case, the adage “no good deed goes unpunished” was true.

When a tornado passed through Queens, N.Y., Thursday a Good Samaritan tried to help a woman when a tree crushed  her car. The woman died and Richard Bermudez, 57, of St. Albans, Queens, suffered a brain aneurysm Friday, apparently from the stress of his efforts to rescue the woman, the New York Post reported Sunday. 

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/brain_death_hits_storm_hero_xY9A7sgYk6A9bLAjubIv3K

Bermudez, who was slated to be married this week, was diagnosed as brain dead Saturday, and was given last rites by a priest.

New York Met Jason Bay’s ‘Delayed’ Concussion Likely To Put Him On The DL

0 comments

Posted on 29th July 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

, , , ,

The New York Mets aren’t taking any chances with the health of Jason Bay, who sustained a concussion — without knowing it — after running into an outfield wall trying to make a catch. It looks like Bay is going to wind up on the disabled list, the New York Post reported Thursday.

 http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/metsblog/mets_bay_rests_again_with_concussion_OAqLV4OOypHUe2ihokZk2O

Update: Bay was in fact put on the DL Friday, for 15 days.

http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2010/07/mets_outfielder_jason_bay_land.html

The left fielder’s case is a good example of why thorough testing and examinations — such as are available now — should be performed to determine the severity of a head injury. That’s a lesson all should have learned from the death last year of actress Natasha Richardson.

Bay ran into the wall last Friday night while playing in Los Angeles, catching a fly ball and holding onto it. But he didn’t start getting any of the symptoms of a concussion, namely a dull headache, until Sunday night, when he was flying home from the road trip to the City of Angels, according to The New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/sports/baseball/28citifield.html?_r=1&ref=sports

Bay apparently mentioned his headaches to his trainers on the plane, but that bit of important news didn’t make its way to Mets manager Jerry Manuel until Tuesday. That was after Bay had gone to a doctor, right before the Mets were ready to play the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field.

Manuel pulled Bay out of Tuesday’s lineup, and the $66 million-contract player had not been feeling much better the past few days.

Bay said that this was his first concussion, and that his doctor suggested he might actually have “more of a whiplash,” according to The Times. 

“He said the doctor told him it was uncommon for someone to have delayed symptoms with a concussion,” The Times wrote. 

This is yet another case that doctors need to do a careful evaluation of those who suffer brain injury, particualry those involving symptoms such as amnesia and neurobehaviorial changes.

Ohio Boy Hit In Head By Line Drive Continues To Make Progress

0 comments

Posted on 28th July 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

, ,

Many people who sustain traumatic brain injury make tremendous strides. The human spirit can defy expectations, or the lack of them, as has been the case with young Luke Holko.

On Sept. 2, 2009 Luke was being held by his dad, Chad Holko, watching a minor league baseball game in Niles, Ohio. The Mahoning Valley Scrappers were playing, and 5-year-old Luke and his father were in the front row, by first base, according to a moving story by Fanhouse.com.

http://www.fanhouse.com/2010/07/26/major-gains-for-boy-hit-by-ball-at-minor-league-game/?ncid=webmail

You probably have already figured out what I’m about to tell you. Luke got hit full force in the back of his head by a line drive off the bat of player Ben Carlson. According to Fanhouse, Luke’s cerebellum hit his brain stem from the force of the blow. Doctors put Luke in an induced coma for two days.

He was treated at Akron Children’s Hospital for about a month, and then was transferred to the Cleveland Clinic’s children’s rehab center. He was sent back to the Akron hospital Oct. 30 and finally came home, in a small wheelchair, on Nov. 5, according to Fanhouse.

Physicians didn’t want to give Luke’s father and mother Nicole any long-term prognosis for him. Like many traumatic brain injury patients, Luke had to relearn many tasks, such as how to talk again and how to swallow. His hearing may be returning. He has made a lot of progress since being near-death. 

He went from a wheelchair to a walker in mid-January, and starting walking on his own in May.

Luke’s walking is still not steady. He is off balance, because his brain isn’t sending the proper signals to the nerves in his right leg. He has to get four botox injections every few months in his calf-muscle, according to Fanhouse.  

Carlson, the player whose line drive smashed into Luke’s head, came to visit the boy. They spent about four hours playing together, and had a great time, Fanhouse said, adding that Luke cried when Carlson left.

Here’s wishing that Luke’s progress will continue.

New York Cop Survives,Tries To Move On After Brain Injury From Accident

1 comment

Posted on 24th July 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

, ,

Carlos Olmedo, a police officer in Brooklyn, has had an almost miraculous recovery from a horrendous accident that left him with traumatic brain injury in May.

Olmedo, 31, was chasing down several suspected car thieves in Bensonhurst in the early morning May 16 when he was hit by a motorcycle, according to a profile of him Friday in the New York Daily News.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/07/23/2010-07-23_injured_hero_cop_is_welcomed_home.html

 The young cop says he was thrown 40 feet in the air and landed on his left side. He sustained severe brain injury and was in a coma for 11 days, clinging to life. When Almedo finally regained consciousness, he learned the seriousness of his injury and understood that his recovery would not be easy. At first, he didn’t even remember his infant son.

According to the News, Almedo prayed for a miracle. He was in the hospital for 2 1/2 months, and has made steady progress.

At this point the police officer has undergone brain surgery, and has a dent in the left side of his head “the size of a fist,” according to the News. Physicians have grafted part of his skull bone onto his stomach, and they will reattach that piece of bone to Omedo’s skull this month. 

The police officer, who also had his ankle crushed in the accident, isn’t back to his old self, but is happy to be alive. Olmedo has some memory loss and his speech is slurred a bit, The News reported.  

 The cop returned to his old stationhouse last Thursday, about two months after his near-fatal accident, where he was greeted by his collegues and New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. It was a hero’s welcome. 

 

Actress Melissa Cunningham Sustains Brain Hemorrhage At VH1’s ‘Celebrity Rehab’

0 comments

Posted on 22nd July 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

, , , , , , ,

Actress Melissa Cunningham, who was seeking treatment from Dr. Drew Pinsky of VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab,” suffered a brain hemorrhage and was hospitalized this week. But she is now out of the hospital.

http://www.popeater.com/2010/07/22/melissa-cunningham-brain-hemorrhage-jeremy-london/?icid=main|main|dl2|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.popeater.com%2F2010%2F07%2F22%2Fmelissa-cunningham-brain-hemorrhage-jeremy-london%2F

Cunningham is in the process of getting a divorce from troubled actor Jeremy London, and they are both appearing on Dr. Pinsky’s VH1 reality  TV show. 

Cunningham came to Dr. Pinsky’s Pasadena Recovery Center in California last Wednesday for help kicking a prescription pill addiction. London checked into the same rehab center on Sunday.

Cunningham, who was having a difficult time with drug withdrawal, got sick and was taken to the hospital Sunday, the day her husband arrived. She was diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage.

 Radar Online reported that Cunningham has already returned to rehab. She and London were married in 2006, and have a child together. But they are splitting up and getting  a divorce.

London, a substance abuser, has been in the news recently. Last month he alleged, rather conveniently, that he was kidnapped by men who at gunpoint  made  him take methamphetamine and esctasy for 12 hours.    

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »