Now I Know Better

This article was written by the principal of Mary L. Tracy School in Orange about helmet safety and her son's injury

Now I Know Better

Several years ago, my son, Austin, was a sixth grader in middle school. Like most kids his age he tolerated school. Despite those feelings, he was a good student and always obtained high honors. Austin was most happy when he was outside playing seasonal sports. He was a pitcher on the National Little League All-Star Team with a no-hitter to his credit, and he played soccer competitively on a premier travel team. When he was not in school or involved in sports, he enjoyed riding his bicycle with his friends. I always reminded him to wear his helmet, but never insisted. You hear about kids involved in bike accidents all the time, but I naively thought that happened to other people, in other towns, but never to me or to one of my own. Unfortunately, on September 12, 1994, it did happen to one of my own, Austin.

On that day, Austin was riding his bike less than 1⁄2 miles from our home when a pick-up truck hit him. He was knocked unconscious and suffered a traumatic brain injury. At Yale-New Haven Hospital I was told to go in and kiss him goodbye because doctors did not believe he would live more than a few hours. The swelling in his head had started to shut down the brain’s functions and, even if he didn’t die, his future looked mighty bleak. Austin laid in a coma for four, long months. A machine did his breathing, a bolt in his head monitored the swelling, a tube in his nose fed him, and I did a whole lot of praying. When Austin came out of his coma he had to learn how to walk, talk, eat, and think all over again. He spent many more months rehabilitating in a hospital. Finally, nine months after the accident, Austin returned home in a wheelchair. He continued with painful, daily, physical therapy sessions and finally was able to walk unassisted, but never the way he did before the accident. Unfortunately, he never regained the use of his right arm and hand. He will never be able to pitch another baseball game. Everyday things that you and I take for granted, like tying our shoes, buttoning our shirts, cooking our food or zipping up our coats are tasks that are next to impossible for my son. Austin needed intensive special education services and continues to receive support from a variety of social service agencies. As a result of his accident, his brain does not function correctly and remembering and learning is very difficult for him. He requires a job coach to help him perform the duties at his part time job. A once very popular young man now struggles socially. His old friends have moved on, and Austin, because of his injury, doesn’t always fit in the way he once did.

I’m not sure what the future holds for Austin, but I do know that if he had been wearing a helmet on September 12th, the opportunities available to him would be a whole lot different than they are today. I can’t tell you how many times over the past few years I have thought to myself, “Why didn’t I insist on him wearing a helmet?” If I could only go back in time to the afternoon of that accident, I would have demanded him to wear a helmet. I’ve played it over in my head a thousand, no ten thousand times, I should have stood on the front porch andsaid, “No helmet, no bike...because I said so!” But I didn’t, and I can’t go back in time, and everyday I look at my son and my heart breaks for him. Everyday I feel his pain, and everyday I live with the guilt that I could have done something to prevent this suffering. I can’t change what happened to my son, but I hope by telling you our story that you will choose to fight the helmet battle.

Thank you for allowing me to share Austin’s story, and join me in my mission to keep Orange’s families safe from head injuries, by sharing this story with at least 5 other people. Pay it Forward! Now YOU Know Better!