Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Natasha Richardson


By now we've probably all heard the tragic news about actor Natasha Richardson who suffered what seemed to be a minor head injury but is now in critical condition. Comments like "braindead" have been thrown around, but at this time, details about her condition are a little sketchy.

One theory I've heard claims that Natasha may have a kind of pre-existing condition that led to a weakness in the blood vessels in her brain, such that although her accident was fairly minor, it was enough to initiate major trauma. She wasn't wearing a helmet as she was traveling down the "bunny slope," but apparently, it wouldn't have helped in her case.

The scary part is: this could happen to anyone. Myself, included.

The Bible has a verse about how we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." That's certainly true, but I would add one additional thought: we are also incredibly fragile. We don't seem to be built to take physical punishment at all, especially compared to many animals (for example, other primates) who easily endure actions that would be quite damaging, or lethal, to us.

Life is short, and seemingly incidental accidents can shorten life even more. Make the most of life, but be careful at the same time.



(Picture is a still from the movie, Waking Up in Reno, from natasha-richardson.org).

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