Natasha Richardson died

[xotoxi]

Does anyone know exactly what the cause of death was? I saw a doc on tv talking about an epidural hemorrhage, where the bleed occurs between the skull and the brain. The symptoms were no visible signs of injury/trauma but within an hour, headache, not feeling well, etc. occur. He indicated that if attended to within a few hours of the initial injury it was fixable. Don't know if this is what she specifically suffered from.

I really, really like her. I'm just shocked by this. Her family . . . has many prayers from many people.

I haven't heard exactly, but epidural hemorrhage seems most likely. That occurs when arteries in the lining of the skull are severed in a quick deceleration injury. When arteries rupture, they keep pumping and cause a lot of pressure in the skull. If attended to quickly, a hole can be drilled into the skull to release the pressure and the blood.

If not, pressure builds and there is only one place for the soft brain to go...down through the hole in the bottom of the skull into the spinal cord. This results in brain death.

The other common types of intracranial bleeds are subdural hemorrhage (which is a venous bleed and it usually stops itself do the the low blood pressure of venous blood) and subarachnoid bleeds (which are bleeding from the capillaries). These two types of bleeding are much slower and are less likely to result in death because there is less pressure.

Thanks for that info. I can't imagine that they couldn't help her. She went to the hospital shortly after her fall, but obviously her condition deteriorated very, very quickly. I'm truly saddened by her death.

My wife's grandmother died that way (granted she was 96).

She fell, hit her head, was unconscious. Then had a period of lucency where she was conversive.

Then confusion. Then lapses of consciousness. Then death.

She did go to the hospital soon after the fall, but it probably wasn't soon enough.

Usually when head trauma with epidural bleed starts to have symptoms like vomiting and stuff, it's getting to be too late.

 

[Midnight Marauder]

Ah, I thought she went sooner than that. I know she was on the slopes when she fell . . . what did her head hit? Ice? Hard snow?

They never said. One would think there would be a pop-knot on her head, were it ice she hit.

My son was pushed down at recess when he was 9 or so and slammed his head on the ground. I mean slammed. Goose egg the size of two golf balls. He was fine. He was standing still when he got knocked down though. I'm thinking she was moving when she fell . . .

I played football all through the 70s into the early 80s, had headaches all season every season. Today, we now know that was because of repeated concussions. Back then we knew nothing. Or if we did know, it hadn't filtered down to the field. Headaches that didn't go away were considered part of the game.

In hindsight, it's a good thing for me I stopped playing after my Sophomore year. The melon isn't something to trifle with.

 

[xotoxi]

Ah, I thought she went sooner than that. I know she was on the slopes when she fell . . . what did her head hit? Ice? Hard snow?

She was skiing in the East.

So she hit her head on concrete.

 

[xotoxi]

I'm thinking she was moving when she fell . . .

I'm sure we'll find out more details eventually.

I would assume she was moving as I can't imagine that she'd generate enough force falling from a still and standing position.

Either way, it would seem to reason that she wouldn't have been going terribly fast on the bunny slope, unlike Sonny Bono and the Kennedy cousin who launched themselves into the woods and wrapped themselves around a tree.

I'd say that this would be classified as a freak accident.

 

[Midnight Marauder]

I'm thinking she was moving when she fell . . .

I'm sure we'll find out more details eventually.

I would assume she was moving as I can't imagine that she'd generate enough force falling from a still and standing position.

Either way, it would seem to reason that she wouldn't have been going terribly fast on the bunny slope, unlike Sonny Bono and the Kennedy cousin who launched themselves into the woods and wrapped themselves around a tree.

I'd say that this would be classified as a freak accident.

The story I got was, she was skiing on the beginner's slope, with a private instructor. Witnesses said the fall looked minor and indeed, she did get right up and was laughing about it, said she was fine. But, they took her in for a quick look anyway. Finding nothing of note, they took her back to her hotel room where an hour later, the headache manifested.

 

[Zoom-boing]

It was a minor fall? Wow . . . you just never know.

 

[auditor0007]

In the hustle and bustle of life we tend to forget that we are all one heartbeat away.

Great advice. A solid reference point when making decisions. Is anything more precious than time?
Could have been an aneurysm etc. Totally unrelated to the fall.
carpe diem

You might be on to something. From what we've heard, her death doesn't make much sense. It almost seems that something other than the knock on her head killed her.