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Tobogganing can be dangerous
“On February 11, 2007, I received the call that every parent dreads receiving. My son Adam was hurt and in an ambulance on his way to the hospital.
My children had been tobogganing with their father on a favorite hill – one that they had been ging to since they were toddlers. It had been a grad afternoon of many exhilarating runs down the magnificent hill. My youngest son Adam had decided to go down the hill just one more time, while his siblings and father stood at the bottom, waiting for him.
While tobogganing, Adam’s sled hit some exposed ices and careened off the main tobogganing path, onto more ice. He went faster and faster and being unable to slow down or stop the sled, hit a cement culvert at the bottom of the hill.
An ambulance took Adam to the nearest hospital, the starting point of his almost seven-week stay in hospital. A CT scan indicated he had fluid in his abdomen and an examination revealed that he had a skull fracture and that his brain was bleeding. These injuries led to hospital stays in three locations. Finally, a year and a half later, we got lucky because Adam was declared ‘well.’
Adam will always have to exercise extra caution when doing any activity involving his head, as his skull is permanently compromised. It still amazes me that something as simple as tobogganing could have produced such near-fatal results. As a result of not wearing a helmet while tobogganing, Adam could have died that day. He has learned a lesson that most people don’t experience until well into adulthood, which had affected him both physically as well as psychologically. We all learned a very important lesson that day.”
Karen, parent from Ontario.
