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For myself, my mind has many conflicting viewpoints on the situation and I assume such is the same for many others who witnessed the crash and read through the ensuing debates. When I see footage of the wreck, I think there is no way he was conscious by the way dead soldiered to a stop. When I hear Bodnar talk about a hundred other riders who do not move from an array of wrecks, that thought is contradicted. There is also no doubt in my mind Bodnar can spot a concussion with the amount he has experienced at the tracks (think he said 700-1,000). I also believe the AMMC, and have from the very beginning, when they said Bell showed no signs of a concussion, recalled the incident, no balance problems, physical symptoms, etc. I also believe he passed the SCAT2 test. It was really cool to hear that you guys raised the passing score over what imPACT recommends. However, it is still hard for me to think he was not out for at least a little bit, but like I said, this crash is full of conflicting thoughts for me.
I have read from some college professors of exercise and sports science who state some people who get knocked out can suffer less trauma than those who remain conscious. I have not been around 500+ concussed individuals so I do not know. Maybe it was possible that he was momentarily "out" but experienced such mild trauma he showed no noticeable symptoms or impairments. Each concussion is unique like Eddie said, so that theory somewhat makes sense in my mind, considering facts and what I witnessed on a couch.
Regardless of what anyone believes, the AMMC guys do an outstanding job and I admire the dedication and sacrifices you guys make. It would be nice if one event a year was dedicated to you guys, kind of like the breast cancer A2 event. I hope all the thanks you get from riders make up for a situations like this. I also hope the AMMC can empathize with what people experienced from the stands and televisions without being in the boots of the AMMC. Don't blame us for being idiots, blame 6D for making an incredible helmet and Speed for catching the wreck on film.
But racers are accepting risk willfully. A trackside doctor has to assess a riders condition on the basis of his symptoms, not on the basis of how spectacular his crash looked. That doctor can't, in good conscience, sit a professional racer against his will if his symptoms and tests don't warrant that. And in this case, Bell was conscious, was responding lucidly to verbal commands, was able to talk and behave normally, and had no signs of concussion. No matter how bad it looked on TV, there was no medical reason to force him to sit out. By the same standard that some would apply to Bells case, they should have black flagged Reed at Millville, and there would be hundreds of other examples where riders have apparently smacked their heads on something and should have been forced to sit out.
I don't object to arguments over the crash - I think those are well intentioned concern about the rider. But after the doctor examines Bell and finds that he shows no signs of concussion, the argument should be whether he should have CHOSEN to ride or not. I think it was certainly heroic; I'm not sure if it was wise or not.
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who made the decision for Zach to change helmets after the first moto crash?? cause after the crash, he no longer has the silver and orange helmet on his head the rest of night. and we all know you change your helmet after a huge crash with a possible "rung Bell." IT'S PROTOCOL ISNT IT DR'S??
whether it was the helmet company, team manager, DR, parents, or Zach himself that made the decision for him use a new helmet. if crash was bad enough he could no longer could use his "crash helmet' then he should be forced to sit out rest of weekend do to "possible" head trama. and dont wanna hear they changed helmets for the main cause of style points. Geico has not used another color scheme on their helmets all season.
1. The visor was broken and perhaps they didn't have a replacement visor that matched the helmet
2. The helmet was clearly scratched up, and that is bad sponsor representation. I'll bet they changed the radiator shrouds on that bike too, as they were scratched up, assuredly.
I saw the crash happen live, I saw it replayed on the Cowboy Stadium big screen, and I paid attention to how long he laid in the track motionless. If he was my kid, he would have been benched, no matter how lucid he may have appeared in the pits afterwards.
This is why they have come up with a way to assess athletes after a possible concussion or head injury. Nobody knows if he was unconscious (although he said so himself that he wasn't) so after seeing what happened to him, he is taken back and is looked over and given a series of test to determine if they believe he has a concussion. If he passes all of the test and based on what Zach said himself there would not be a reason to believe he has a concussion......even though it looked like he might. There are people saying "we don't know what happened in those 20 seconds before medical go to him". Well, that is why they administer the tests and if there was any doubt that he may have a significant head injury they wont let him ride. I've had many concussions and have been given the "concussion test" many times.....it's pretty hard to fake your way through it. I just don't understand why the medical crew is being questioned in regards to this, they know what they are doing and they have absolutely nothing to gain and everything to lose by allowing someone to continue riding if they felt he had a concussion. If he was administered the tests and passed, they did their job.
Doctors study anatomy and biology. They don't study physics. The video allows you to see how fast, how high Bell was, and ultimately how hard Bell's head impacted the ground. It allows you to analyze the physics involved in the crash to determine what type of force his head may have seen when it hit the ground.
As far as not using a different color scheme all season? I'll leave you with this...
A1 practice
A1 racing
Phoenix practice
Phoenix racing
A2 practice
A2 racing (note Zach's helmet, too).
Oakland practice
Oakland racing
A3 practice
A3 racing
San Diego practice
San Diego racing
Pit Row
Medicine isn't an exact science, and Doctors' frequently make bad judgement calls. That's why their malpractice insurance is so expensive.
I can assure you that had he benched Bell Saturday night, there would be very little debate about it here in the peanut gallery.
You even said it yourself, "IMO a knocked out cold ZB laying on the deck." In YOUR opinion. Not the opinions of the people who were down on the ground and had direct contact with Zach.
i still can't believe what I am reading and yes I was there. it made my stomach hurt and I must have taken a 3 minute nap as well cause I put my head back on the seat because I couldn't stand the look of it...wasn't 3 minutes
wtf do you do when you go to the doctor thinking you broke anything???? doc - after test and xrays "nothings broken" vitard-yes it had to be you should have seen how hard I hit the ground, let me draw you a picture.
un friggin belieavable!
this should help it get a couple more pages...
PS my doctor left his rolex in my spleen. I cut it out with a spork and sold it on ebay for 350 bucks. Who knew you could sell a spleen on ebay? damn rolex was fake.
Post a reply to: Concussions? I have your answer