I have quite a history of head injuries and I wear a helmet on any activity that I could hit my head, which is a lot. I do actually take it with me to the backcountry. I use a Pro-Tech Ace with a newer impact foam called SXP. To take my safety one step farther, I have not played a single team contact sport since 1986. Not even pick up games. A push on the court or an unintentional tackle could be 'all she wrote' if i hit my head.

I have had my skull split open by a garden hoe being chopped into my head. A nice scar creates a new part in my hairline.

At 16 I was in a car accident and suffered massive head trauma in a closed head injury. I lost all my memory and had to learn to read, walk, talk, drive and all my friends and family all over again. Its has shaped my life like nothing before or since. I never recovered my memory. I have no emotional or visual reaction to anything in my youth.

I have had a total of 13 concussions, at least 8 where I have been knocked unconscious. My last was November 2007. It took me 3 months to recover fully.

I was very moved when I heard about Natasha Richardson. While our accidents were different, the following hours were identical. I was lucid and active for about four hours, then started having seizures and blacking out. The next morning i woke up with amnesia and slightly paralyzed from the accident. it took me 1.5 years to become functional and another 6 before i feel I was able to pass as 'normal'