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Ski helmet pays off

Wearing a helmet while soaring down a ski hill is being credited for saving a young boy's life. When six-year-old Isaiah Waldner of Prince George came barreling down the Hart Highlands ski hill Feb.
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Wearing a helmet while soaring down a ski hill is being credited for saving a young boy's life.

When six-year-old Isaiah Waldner of Prince George came barreling down the Hart Highlands ski hill Feb. 6 on a snowboard, he smacked head first into a pole with such impact it caused his helmet to crack and split.

Isaiah's father Richard, who was with Isaiah, said the pole - about three feet high - was located on the side of the hill where it is used as an anchor for the net barricade.

Those rushing over to Isaiah found him on his knees hanging on to the pole and screaming.

"His face was cut up quite badly, and the hit to his head caused him to throw up and give him a migraine headache," his mother Brianna told The Citizen.

The ambulance was called and the patrol ski team took good care of the boy until it arrived, fitting him with a neck brace and ensuring he remained still to prevent any potential injuries to his spinal area, Brianna said.

"Everyone at the hospital said they certainly would not have wanted to see his head if he had not had a helmet on. They credited it with saving his life."

Isaiah was given a CT scan and an x-ray of his pelvic area and was discharged within a day.

"He's still sore, but is asking to go back on the hill."

Richard said he's afraid to let Isaiah out of his sight now since the incident that occurred due to a lack of communication.

Richard explained he was on the T-bar behind Isaiah who fell off the lift.

"I tried to tell him I'd get off and he should could come up to meet me, but he thought I was telling him to ski down the hill.

"His bindings were done up, and he immediately took off. I jumped off right away, but had to do up one of my bindings before I could go after him.

"He went straight down, never slowing up and I estimate he was going 30 to 40 km an hour when he hit."

So, a new helmet has been ordered and Isaiah will be back on the hill shortly. In the meantime, he is showing his broken helmet at school to promote safety, and then it will be given to the Hart Highlands Ski Hill staff to create awareness about the value of wearing helmets.

The Waldner's are firm believers in helmet safety. Isaiah has one each for skating, biking and tobogganing as well as skiing.

The ski industry has no mandatory regulations regarding helmets for skiers and snow boarders, "but we all strongly promote it," said Mike Gareau, president of the Hart Highlands Ski Hill.

Gareau said the industry also strongly promotes adhering to the safety code which provides 10 general safety rules to follow on the slopes.

He added "promoting it in a positive manner" is paying off at the Hart Highlands hill with at least 70 per cent of his customers now wearing helmets.

He said Isaiah's head injury is rare in the sport in which only one-half of one per cent are head-related. The vast majority of injuries occur to legs and arms, he said

On Wednesday, a spokesman from the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General said the province is working to develop legislation mandating the use of helmets for recreational alpine sports and establish recommendations on how we can best support alpine sports safety.


For the complete "smart-version" of the Prince George Citizen visit our Digital Edition