Sledding is as much a part of winter as snowfalls and mittens, but sledding fun can turn deadly in the blink of an eye.
Six-year-old Isaac Vorhies was certainly game. The first grader with a fun sense of humor convinced his parents to let him sled down a small hill, but Isaac hit a bump no one saw coming.
"And he went into a pole that was on the other side of the hill, and he lost consciousness for about four seconds maybe. Scariest thing that's ever happened. Scariest moment of my life," said Tami Vorhies, Isaac's mother.
Sled crashes for kids are par for the course, but with a head injury, Vorhies trusted her instincts.
"My son was acting like himself when he came to. Next thing I know, he has a brain bleed which if untreated is fatal," she said.
Doctors rushed Isaac to surgery to fix an epidural bleed. Isaac was acting fairly normally and many parents may have instead just taken their child home for the night.
"Sometimes going down those hills can be pretty scary and pretty fast," said Lisa Pardi, RN, injury prevention coordinator.
Pardi says Isaac's near death sledding accident is a reminder about the need for helmets when it comes to sledding, skiing, and snowboarding because even though the white snow is pretty and inviting it's more dangerous than many realize.
"We've had children who have been impaled by objects from things buried in the snow when they are tossed from their sled, and obviously head injuries is one of the big ones. We usually caution families not to allow their children to go down the hills head first," said Pardi.
After surgery, Isaac asked for a mohawk so he could look like a punk rocker. Complete with his scar, it makes quite an impression.
But Tami Vorhies hopes other parents will always seek medical attention with head injuries because her family nearly lost it all.
"God was watching out for my son and people were praying and that's why he's here," she said.
