US Bobsledder Suffers Brain Injury
Todd Hays’ brain injury could heal within three months and without surgery. He recently had to drop his U.S. Olympic bobsled bid to make the Vancouver Games and retired after learning the extent of brain damage he sustained in a training crash. The bobsledder will need further evaluation of the bleeding in his brain and will have to be monitored for weeks. He does have full neurological function at this point. He had to retire after being told that his brain injury was worse than the preliminary concussion diagnosis had originally thought. His teammates initially knew something was wrong after their bobsled crashed in a training run. The athlete was told by doctors that more trauma could cause irreversible brain damage. However, the chief medical officer advised him that if he rested now the brain could heal itself. Concussions are not uncommon in the sport of bobsledding. This case highlights the need to rest after a brain injury, especially in the unique circumstances of athletes. To read more about the bobsledder’s brain injury, please click the link.
