December 5th, 2021, my son Joe and I were taking our first ski run of the season at Ragged Mt in Danbury New Hampshire. After our traditional selfie at the top (above), I leaned over to tighten the buckles on my boots and Joe launched down Blueberry Trail. The sky was blue, and the sun shone boldly on the groomed slopes. Despite arriving early, the trail was abuzz with family vacationers. I remember taking two smooth turns and the next thing I remember is opening my eyes and seeing a doctor staring into my face in what turned out to be the emergency room of Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon. I was very confused. I had no recollection of the past 3 hours. Gradually, I came to understand that I had been knocked down by another skier and had hit my head on the frozen slope. I was told that my helmet might have saved my life. A witness to the collision said I was unconscious for a couple of minutes but started moving and talking after that as the ski patrol arrived with a toboggan to transport me down to the base lodge where an ambulance was waiting. I had already received a CT scan that revealed a “small” subarachnoid hemorrhage, between my skull and brain. I was held for six hours until a second CT scan confirmed that the bleeding had stabilized and then I was released with instructions to take anti-seizure medication for a week as a precaution and to lay low. I was to report back for a follow-up CT scan in five weeks. As I write, it has been four weeks from the time of the accident, and I have recovered nearly 100%. I feel better and better with each passing day. Safely back at home, though I had trouble concentrating and focusing for a few days, I was very happy to rejoin our dog Mookie for our three daily walks. During the first week, I felt lightheaded when I got out of bed and a bit dizzy and disoriented when I moved around, but I was pleased to make measurable progress each day. I was extremely fortunate for a lot of reasons - I had a helmet on, the Ragged Mt ski patrol, the Danbury EMTS and the doctors and staff at DHMC all acted quickly and professionally, and I was in excellent physical health despite my age, 72, because I exercise regularly. If any one of those conditions were missing, the outcome might have been very different.

Why am I explaining all this to you in the New England 65+ Running Club? Because one of my first thoughts after I realized I had sustained a serious head injury was, will I be able to enjoy running again? Fear not, I now say! We runners are RESILIENT. We set long-term goals and plan ahead. We tend to have a positive attitude toward life in general and if one training method or technique doesn’t work for us, we don’t give up, we try something else. We are persistent. We are adaptive. We are patient. We have learned that running can be joyful at any pace.

As soon as I had my wits about me following my skiing accident, I started reading up on TBIs (traumatic brain injuries). I discovered the book, “The End of Trauma: How the New Science of Resilience is Changing How We Think About PTSD”, George A. Bonanno, 2021. Bonanno is a professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University. Soon after he started at Columbia, he witnessed the traumatic events of 9/11 firsthand and researched its victims. Surprisingly, he found that 2/3 of all victims of all varieties of trauma, including the events of 9/11, are able to cope with their trauma and heal themselves physically and mentally. Bonanno refers to the ability to cope as the resilience trajectory. This group tends to have a positive outlook on life and can move forward from a new lower baseline. They are flexible and try new ways to get better. They are socially active. They are RESILIENT. As we all know, exercise and a healthy diet are good for the body, the brain, and the soul. This gives runners like us a serious leg up on the general population when it comes to being resilient.

So going forward, let’s be smart. Continue to exercise (run, walk) regularly, fuel our bodies with nutritious foods and try to run with a group at least once a week. I am fortunate to have my faithful dog, Mookie as my trice-daily walking and running buddy. And, if you ski, bike, rock climb, or skydive…wear a good helmet.