Report: Natasha Richardson May Have Suffered From “Talk And Die” Syndrome
Posted by Sassy Smith at 1:45 PM on March 18, 2009
While there’s been no official announcement or statement from Natasha Richarson’s family, it’s believed she was moved from a Montreal hospital to a New York hospital, where she is surrounded by family. It’s been reported that she’ll be removed from life support, suffering a severe brain injury after a skiing accident on Monday. Everyone is wondering how someone who didn’t appear to have any sort of serious injury at the time,and was “fine at first”- Natasha reportedly got up after she fell, was talking and laughing – could now be brain dead?
Dr. Steven Flangan, director of Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine at New York University’s Langone Medical Center – who has not treated Richardson – speculated about what could have happened.
He said,”I can only speculate, but it sounds like something we call the ‘talk and die’ syndrome.
“What this implies is that someone hits their head and they are seemingly OK initially,” he told FOXNews.com. “But then they get a rapid collection of blood — usually called epidural hemorrhage — and that means bleeding between the skull and the brain.”
He added that a person doesn’t necessarily show signs of trauma after suffering a head injury.
“When someone has bleeding between the skull and the brain, it basically presses on the brain, and if it presses enough… it can cause substantial damage and even death.
“And presumably that’s what probably happened to her — but again, we’re speculating.”
Symptoms of an epidural hemorrhage are: Headache, loss of consciousness, weakness on one side of the body, and a change in mental status.
Flanagan said, “If the condition is not treated immediately, the person will fall into a coma and “it’s downhill from there.”
“So you need to get the injury treated immediately.”
He explained, “First we would do an emergency CAT scan to find out exactly where the hemorrhage is, and then the patient would need immediate surgery.”
Dr. Flanagan said he’s unsure of what kind of head injury Richardson sustained, but he said it would have be a substantial blow.
“If you bumped your head getting out of the car, this wouldn’t happen to you. It would have to be a significant injury.”
I keep hoping that she’s still got a chance to come out of this, but it’s not looking good. My heart breaks for her boys (they’re 12 and 13) and how upsetting this must be for them.
[Source]
Subdural hematoma is another possibility. If the fall caused her head to thrash in a particular way, even if she didn’t actually hit her head on something, the blood vessels could shear and cause blood to leak between the brain and the dura. Acute SDH have a high mortality rate, something like 50%. I feel awful for her husband, children, and other loved ones.
Oh, my GOD! This is so tragic. My family and I just went through a traumatic injury that could have resulted in death had he not bee treated immediately. He jumped to reach a pole, slipped and fell 11 feet sideways onto his head. He suffered a subdural hematoma and had to hav immediate surgery to relieve the pressure. By the grace of god he survived, he now has 3 titanium plates in his head and one could never tell. Those 24 hrs were the hardest in my life. I have three other children and I pray it never happens to them or anyone else’s family. This tragedy has hit so close to my home and my heart I cry as I write this. My heart felt sympathy to Natasha’s family.