For the front page story, “A daring stunt gone wrong,” which appeared in the July 20, 2010 Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-met-paralyzed-tumbler-20100719,0,1126862.story
]]>Interesting fact: Illinois has more doctors per capita than three other states – California, Ohio and Texas – frequently cited by tort reformers because of their caps on damages
Brain injuries, chest injuries, and even deaths, have resulted when metal bats were used by children. Metal bats may increase the speed of the ball, but is a higher batting average worth the risk? Isn’t it ironic that, when it comes to professional baseball, players say that wood baseball bats are a must.
In a recent issue of Scientific American Mind, Dr. Douglas Smith, director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote that the injury doesn’t just suddenly appear, but that it builds up over time, going from memory loss and personality changes to a full-blown dementia. It is different from other brain diseases such as ALS and Alzheimer’s disease. Researcher Ann McKee, who has dissected more than 2,000 brains, says that many CTE cases are misdiagnosed.
Millions of Americans, mostly men, play football at some level, and a lot of them have suffered injuries. But the cumulative effect of head blows, even slight ones, can and do damage the players as they age.
One solution to reduce the number of concussions, some experts say, is to stop hitting in practice. The other, of course, is to give up football.
That means that a few metal baseball bats must be sitting around collecting dust. So before you toss that metal bat in the trash (and contaminate our environment), consider recycling. Metal bats are recyclable! In fact, the aluminum in metal bats can be recycled completely. Read more: How to Dispose of an Aluminum Bat | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5715143_dispose-aluminum-bat.html#ixzz0rghb27Rq
Those who had both a head trauma and depression reported more pain, mobility problems and greater difficulty in carrying out their usual responsibilities. The research was conducted by the University of Washington. Some say that TBI, combined with severe depression, can have severe consequences from the recovery of TBI.
I am a staunch supporter of a small but growing group of people who want to ban metal baseball bats in youth sports. I have been on the forefront of this issue for three years, since a friend of mine called my attention to the problem. Christina Russo’s son, who was 14 at the time, was seriously injured when a line-drive off a metal bat struck him directly in the face. He has since needed two plastic surgeries to repair the damage, but he and his family are doing fine, considering all the physical and emotional trauma they have faced.
I told Christina I would do what I could to help and approached State Rep. Bob Molaro, who introduced a bill in the state legislature that would have banned the use of these bats by youth leagues. Unfortunately, the bill never got out of committee. Last year, Alderman Bob Fioretti was extremely supportive of our efforts to have the Chicago City Council ban metal bats in youth leagues, but the metal bat “cartel” brought in their big guns, and sadly, we struck out.
Currently, only New York City and the state of North Dakota have succeeded in passing legislation to ban metal bats in youth leagues. The latest state to step up to the plate is California. In May, a bill was introduced in the state legislature to ban metal bats as a result of a Marin County teenager who suffered a serious head injury when he was hit in the head by a ball hit off a metal bat. The boy’s team actually switched to wood bats to honor the injured player.
]]> There are signs that the baseball industry is beginning to wake up. Beginning on January 1, 2011, the National Collegiate Athletic Association will enforce only BBCOR-approved bats. BBCOR ratings, which are considered a more direct measure of bat performance, ensure the metal bats “perform like wood bats” with no extra bounce or faster exit speeds.But high school leagues and Little League have taken no such steps. Those leagues are still able to determine at the local level whether or not to use potent metal bats or safer wood bats.
We simply must make our “national pastime” safer for children. Local and state governing bodies have been reactionary in that they only pass or consider laws after a young player is hurt or killed. Elected public officials in Chicago and Illinois have a chance to be proactive rather than reactive, and prevent such tragedies from occurring in the first place.
]]>Nursing home abuse occurs when the resident is physically abused, raped or sexually assaulted, over-sedated, or subjected to verbal and/or emotional abuse in nursing homes. Abuse in nursing homes can be hard to detect, since many nursing home residents have trouble communicating and may have sporadic family support.
The phrase traumatic brain injury tends to conjure the worst case scenario of a patient who suffers severe brain damage leading to severe disabilities, coma or death. However, most traumatic brain injuries are classified as mild. A mild traumatic brain injury typically involves symptoms of brain damage (such as mood changes or confusion), but no sign of damage based on a neurological exam or standard brain imaging techniques.
This definition complicates diagnosis. Some patients are told nothing is wrong with them.
About 75% of these deaths occur at the scene of the incident or during initial transport. Fire and burn deaths are combined because deaths from burns in fires cannot always be distinguished from deaths which result from smoke poisoning.
• Approximately 1.4 million people experience a TBI,
• Approximately 50,000 people die from head injury,
• Approximately 1 million head-injured people are treated in hospital emergency rooms, and
• Approximately 230,000 people are hospitalized for TBI and survive.