Sarah Burke

I apologise for the formatting, I just copied and pasted from my CBC app. Seems like the whole world is pulling fr her. C'mon Sarah, pull through :)
 
i think everyone ought to paypal gnartron a few bucks so we can get a NS flower boquet sent to her house, since he apparently lives in the vicinity
 
Traumatic brain injuries are very complex, and usually are a condition that upon initial stabilization, require time, a LOT of time to fully assess and understand. There isn't much medical intervention can do beyond relieving pressure from any internal bleeding, and maintaining vital systems of the body (breathing etc).

Once the patient is stable, and has made it through the first few days - it really becomes a waiting game - monitoring, regular scans, and taking it day by day.

I wouldn't expect any major changes or news overnight - from the sounds of things, it's some fairly serious brain trauma, probably involving bleeding if surgery is required.

All in all, it sounds like this could be a long haul - the next major step is upon revival of the patient (who knows how long that could be), to a semi state of consciousness (Docs in Neuro in these cases never bring a patient fully out of a medically induced coma right away, they just lessen the sedation slightly) and perform simple tests to begin to assess brain function - all the, wiggle your left toe if you can hear me, can you feel this pinch, blink etc etc....

I know all this from a close family member that went through it all and it's a long old waiting game taking it day by day - often for months. She's far from out of the woods - and vibes to her Family who now have to endure this long wait feeling pretty helpless... the patient is usually in the most comfortable place as they have no idea what's going on - for family though it's really really tough.

Vibes +
 
And we all know similar injuries from skier Pekka Hyysalo and boarder Kevin Perace (?) as well.

There is hope for life and recovery, but anyone who gets info from the press conference be sure to post it here..
 
Just remember, it's an INDUCED coma, where they purposely put her into a coma to minimize brain activity and allow the swelling of the concussion to go down. She didn't get put into a coma from her fall. She can be woken at any time, but in this case it will be when her brain swelling goes down.

Vibes to her and her family. She literally is the face of women's halfpipe skiing, she needs a speedy recovery. Let's see you skiing soon Sarah. < 3

 
Yeah this is a very good post. I'm going to copy what I posted in the other Sarah Burke thread in NSG to here also, just in case anyone cares.

To partially answer some of the questions from above, and shed some light on this very sad situation-

Coma is a loosely defined term as used by the media. What you have to understand (and I don't really know about any specifics about her injury, including someone saying that she had CPR for a period of time) is that head injuries are very hard to treat and evaluate. Its not like stopping bleeding with some stitches or something. Sometimes its hard to even see with x-rays and other imaging what if anything had happened to the brain.

What happens in a situation like this is usually a variation of the following.

-The patient injures themselves, usually from the head taking a blow with something, although not always. Sometimes the force involved in a sudden change of direction (i.e. whiplash, especially in the elderly) can cause the brain to impact the inside of the skull, causing an injury exactly the same to one where the head hits something. Sometimes its a significant impact, other times it can be a minor mechanism that really hurts someone, like falling from a standing height.

-They usually right off of the bat have an altered level of consciousness. Meaning not appropriately awake. There are various methods of measuring consciousness that medical crews use. For them to fly her out of the mountain, she was more than likely significantly altered.

-This is where it gets funny. The measurements of consciousness are rudimentary as far as predicting the severity of the actual injury, or the prognosis of the injury. However, they have some bearing. There is a threshold that gets crossed (with how altered a person is) eventually where someone gets intubated however, and that indicates that the injury was significant. The point of intubation is to "protect" the patient's airway. Having the tube in the windpipe keeps the patient breathing effectively (through a ventilator) and helps prevent choking, things that a brain injured person would not be able to do for themselves.

-To be intubated, you generally need some sedation, as its an irritating thing to have the tube in your throat, even if you are unconscious. So doctors will give a continuous infusion of medicine that keeps you asleep, similar/same agents used by anesthesiologists when they put you to sleep in an OR. These also do double duty for helping the injured person heal through rest. However, when a person is being chemically sedated, their neurological status cannot be effectively evaluated, compounding the difficulty of assessing the persons degree of injury or impairment. It can be a couple of days with these medicines, or sometimes much much longer. The process for removal of the tube and sedation agents and all the other supportive care is much more complicated and multifactoral, and frankly well above my pay grade.

Hope that clears up some questions, and best of luck Sarah.

 
That is AWESOME news, Shes strong she'll pull through.
=player_embedded#! here's a really heart warming clip of her and Rory, sounds like the whole worlds pulling for her she'll make er through this.
 
I just saw this on youtube. it makes me so sad :(. get better Sarah, im praying for you, Rory, your family, and friends.

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Does that mean she lost significant blood flow to her a brain for a long period of time? I am not a doctor I dont know much about this stuff. Can your other 1 or 2 large arteries carry enough blood to the brain to keep it healthy?
 
well depending yes and no; the circle of willis within one's brain can compensate somewhat and redistribute blood throughout the brain. It is hard to say what the outcome would be though...wishing her the best of luck
 
really hope she pulls through. great to see all the support, hopefully some good news is coming soon.
 
Can anyone confirm this? I asked freeskier and they said "

Unfortunately, none of the reports we've received lend any validation to that story."
 
In the last press release it was mentioned that there will be a press conference on monday the 16th at the University of Utah Clinical Neurosciences Center. More details such as the exact time should be announced on sunday, so up tilt then, I don't think any news will pop up that will (or can) be confirmed.

Let's keep away from speculations and keep sending those positive vibes.
 
Mods and staff, Why isn't this a sticky?? I really hope we get some good news tomorrow. Everyone is pulling for you Sarah, you've got to have one of the biggest support networks imaginable!
 
It should be positive considering how long it's been since the accident and her condition hasn't worsened. Fingers crossed.

This is also a good example of why more respect should be shown for ski patrol than they get on here. If it weren't for them Burke would be dead right now.
 
It was cancelled... that article on the last page said that it was cancelled because "there was no good news to share about [Sarah's] progress"This is heartbreaking... Please Sarah, you can make it out of this.
 
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/236405-Vibes-for-Sarah/page8

has more info than NS...

such as

"Pro skier Meg Olenick of Colorado reported through Twitter Friday that Burke flutters her eyelids and her heart rate increases when people speak to her. Olenick’s original message is no longer visible but many users of the social media platform have shared her note." -piquenewsmagazine

I hope that's true. I also hope they are stalling the conference because they see an opportunity to deliver much better news soon. The glass is half full.
 
Pulled from my CBC app.

Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke went into cardiac arrest immediately after her accident during a sponsored superpipe event at Park City Mountain Resort last Tuesday, according to Utah hospital officials.

“Sarah did go into arrest on the hill at the time of the accident last Tuesday,” the CBC's Keith Boag reported for News Network. “And she was resuscitated by the first responders who we believe were ski patrol on the hill.…had she not been able to get immediate treatment, she may not well be here at all today."

The family was set to hold a news conference Monday, but decided to cancel it after meeting with Burke's physicians.

“So it seems pretty clear that’s not good news,” said Boag. “It’s a stretch to say that it is bad news. We talked with the public relations people here about the state of mind of the family and there were a couple of things they were concerned about. First of all, based on the information they got last night, which they have not shared with us, they were not sure that there was a point to having a news conference. They’re not sure they’d be able to answer the questions being asked.

“Obviously there’s a possibility that the news they did receive was upsetting to them and they chose to cancel the news conference — for that reason as well — but we don’t know that for certain.”

The 29-year-old Whistler, B.C., resident has been in critical care at the University of Utah Hospital Clinical Neurosciences Center in Salt Lake City since suffering a tear in her vertebral artery, which is located in the neck and supplies blood to the brainstem.

The tear caused bleeding to Burke’s brain and she remains in critical condition. Burke was placed in an induced coma and had surgery last Wednesday. She's at the University of Utah Clinical Neurosciences Center in Salt Lake City.

“In the days ahead there will be further tests," said Boag. "The doctors will be trying to reduce her sedation to get her to a higher level of consciousness. But how soon it will be before we have further information about that is something we just don’t know at this point.”

Burke’s injury occurred during a landing on the halfpipe ramp, and according to Canadian Freestyle Ski Association CEO Peter Judge, the trick she was performing “was nothing out of the norm, nothing on the extreme end of the spectrum.”

Burke's family released a statement Monday, explaining in part the decision to cancel the news conference.

"Late last night, Rory Bushfield, Sarah's husband, and members of her family met with physicians to discuss the results of Sarah's most recent neurological tests and assessments,” Nicole Wool, Burke's' public relations person, wrote CBC reporter Teddy Katz in a email. “Based on the information they received, we regret to inform you that they have decided to cancel today's press conference in order for further tests to be conducted this morning and in the coming days.

“The family wants to express their deep appreciation for the overwhelming support Sarah has received from all over the world. They ask that everyone continue to keep Sarah and Rory in their prayers. Rory and Sarah's family remain at the hospital.”

The family said more tests will be done and future updates on Burke's condition will come through her website.

Burke, a native of Barrie, Ont., who grew up in nearby Midland before moving to Squamish, B.C., was training with a private group at the time of the accident. Park City Mountain Resort spokesman Andy Miller said the accident happened in the early afternoon on the same halfpipe where snowboarder Kevin Pearce was critically injured during training on Dec. 31, 2009.

Pearce suffered traumatic brain injuries but has since recovered and returned to riding on snow last month.

A four-time superpipe Winter X Games champion and 2005 halfpipe world gold medallist, Burke played a major role in getting halfpipe added to the 2014 Winter Games in Russia.

“Sarah is the top female halfpipe athlete in the world," Judge said last week.

"She was instrumental in launching the sport and has continued to be a leader moving towards the sport’s Olympic debut in 2014. She is an incredibly resilient and strong young woman, and we are hoping she will draw on that strength at this time. Our thoughts are with her and her family at this time.”

With files from The Canadian Press
 
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