The Retro Run 10km & 5km Run/Walk

Date: Jan. 28, 9 a.m.

Location: Kiwanis Park, Tempe

What it’s all about: This 10km & 5km Run/Walk takes you back in time. Participants are encouraged to dress in their best 80’s attire, like shoulder pads, leg warmers and acid wash jeans. The winners of the best male and female costumes will receive a beach cruiser bike.

For more information: http://www.4peaksracing.com/

The Nun Run

Date: March 10, 8:00 a.m.

Location: Kiwanis Park, Tempe

What it’s all about: This 10km & 5km Run/Walk goes through the desert and its exactly what you think. It’s a run with nuns.

For more information: http://www.4peaksracing.com/

IMS Arizona Marathon

Date: Feb. 19, 7:00 a.m.

Location: Verrado Towne Center–
21029 W. Main St.
, Buckeye

What it’s all about: In addition to walking the marathon, the marathon as a whole supports The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and a portion of the net proceeds goes to support its mission to fund blood cancer research and patient services.

For more information: http://thearizonamarathon.com/

The Lost Dutchman Arizona Marathon

Date: Feb 19, 7:00 a.m.

Location: Gold Canyon to Apache Junction

What it’s all about: There’s a race for everyone. If you’re not up to running the marathon from Grand Canyon to Apache Junction, you can participate in the half marathon, 10K, 8K Trail Run, or a two-mile fun run/walk. This marathon supports a variety of charities, mainly benefiting local youth organizations that are focused on the economically disadvantaged.

For more information: http://www.lostdutchmanmarathon.org/

One for Water 4-Miler

Date: March 10, 8:00 a.m.

Location: Rio Vista Community Park, Peoria

What it’s all about: This run was originally created to raise awareness about fixing leaks and encouraging citizens to become water savvy in homes, businesses and landscapes. From there it has escalated into a fun local race that has food, activities for kids, leak-fixing demos and more.

For more information: http://www.active.com/running/peoria-az/one-for-water-4-miler—join-the-chase-2012

Havasu Half Marathon

Date: April 14, 7:30 a.m.

Location: Lake Havasu City

What it’s all about: This run takes you across the world famous London Bridge. With beautiful scenery and perfect outside temperatures, this race is a hot spot for a variety of people.

For more information: http://www.havasuhalf.com/

The Night Run

Date: May 12, 7:00 p.m.

Location: Civic Center Mall – Northeast Lawn–Scottsdale, AZ

What it’s all about: This year the run goes to support Workshops for Youth and Families. The run, being a Scottsdale tradition for 25 years, should be a fun night full of entertainment, beautiful scenery and running or walking!

For more information: http://www.thenightrun.com/

4^th Annual Women’s All the Way 5k Run/Walk

Date: Feb. 4, 8:30 a.m.

Location: Kiwanis Park, Tempe

What it’s all about: This run/walk supports the Women’s Enterprise Foundation (WEF), which is a non-profit charity working to help Phoenix women entrepreneurs.

For more information: http://www.elfpromotions.com/WEF_5K_Run_Walk.html

“I hate waking up in the morning. I’ve known most of these people for over four years; they should know what I look like,” senior Avery Moss said. “Because I’m a senior I don’t feel like I have to do any work.”

A quick list of symptoms often include the following: an over-excessive wearing of track pants, old comfy T-shirts, athletic shorts, sweatpants, over-sized sweatshirts, a lack of studying, repeated absences, a large decrease in academic performance, procrastination (not just in school) and a generally dismissive attitude toward teachers, parents, administrators and most of all, underclassmen, because seniors are obviously better than everyone else. No exceptions.

“You can tell seniors don’t spend much time preparing for the day,” freshman Brooke Schofield said. “They just seem irritable and annoyed at everything.”

Infected students will often leave their binder (not their backpack, it’s too much to carry) in their car from the time they leave campus until the time they return the next day.

“I took easy classes so I wouldn’t have homework,” senior Katie Koponen said. “The only homework I do have is for math and I wait until the next day to do it, like when there’s down time in classes before that one.”

Seniors with senioritis also tend to play pranks on others, sometimes doing things that they would never consider doing. But it’s all right because detention is acceptable after your college applications have been submitted. Right?

Although this illness is quite serious and extremely difficult to get rid of, as the only real cure is graduation itself. There are only four months left of having these diseased students roaming campus.

Until next year that is.

I woke up early, grabbed my bags and the new skateboard I had just bought, called a “Penny Board,” (tiny, plastic-molded boards that were replicas of the first ones ever made) and then headed over to the train station. I was about to take the Coast Liner up to Simi Valley, Calif., from Solana Beach to visit my older brother Luke at college. Luke attends California Lutheran in Thousand Oaks, a pleasant city near Los Angeles about 20 minutes or so inland. It was an awesome train ride with views of the ocean and small beach towns along the way. Once I made it to Los Angeles, however, it wasn’t the best of views I had seen; all city, smog and graffiti. I was glad to step off the train three-and-a-half hours later and hop in the car with my brother to make the drive to Thousand Oaks. I was now two-and-a-half hours away from the rest of my family completely unaware I was about to endure the experience of a lifetime.

Friday, Oct. 14^th

I woke up in my brother’s dorm room bed, ready for another day with my brother and his friends. We planned on going skating on the various hills nearby, just as we did the day of my arrival. Our friend, Austin Scates, had also joined us the day before as well, and two of our other friends, Dayne Petera and his girlfriend, Christy Garrison (all Corona graduates), were on their way from Northern Arizona University to hang out with us as well.

The majority of the day consisted of hanging out in the dorms, doing some dishes, grabbing some lunch and skating around. After a brief skate around town, we returned to the dorms waiting for Dayne to show up, and for Luke’s roommate Michael Hooten, or “Hooty,” to return from whatever he was doing.

Hooty was back at the dorm while Dayne was only about 15 minutes away, giving us enough time to go tackle the “big hill across the street” (pictured on the front page). I had seen the hill from campus and noticed it was pretty steep and not totally fit for my board. but, disregarding these thoughts crossing my mind, I decided I  wanted to skate it at least once.

We headed out for the skate and when we got across the street to the bottom of the hill, Dayne and Christy pulled up and we were all excited to finally hang out. We all held on to Dayne’s car while he towed us up the hill on our boards. When we got to the top, there was an awesome view of all the hills and mountains surrounding Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks. The California weather was great; there was a slight breeze, as it was that time of year, when it is in the middle of the transition from summer to fall. It was awesome to be outside enjoying the weather with friends, as it was still too hot to do so back home.  After we all talked and discussed plans for the night while enjoying the view, we decided it was time to go down the hill, and then go grab dinner for the night.

For a while, this was all I remembered, and I still am not sure if I remember what happened next. I can’t tell if the pictures in my head of riding down the hill are real images, images from the day before, or just my imagination coming from what Luke, Hooty and Dayne have told me.

I know I can barely remember starting down the hill after Hooty, while the others jumped in the car because they didn’t want to attempt the hill.

Hooty

Luke was silent, but the look on his face was screaming. He hadn’t seen the fall; I’m glad. Nathan’s body was limp before he even touched the ground. His head had whipped back against the stale concrete. His board was gone, but it didn’t matter. I rushed back to Nathan, unconscious, half his body under a parked car. Luke beat me there, landing by Nathan’s side, quietly speaking to his younger brother, or to himself. I couldn’t tell.

Austin was out of Christy’s car before it stopped, already dialing 911. I took the phone from him and backed away from the scene. I thought about Luke, always seeming a better version of my older brother back home. Now I saw him kneeling beside his younger brother, a better brother than I could be, but unconscious, vomiting, only 16 years old. The crowd around Nathan was small. Austin and Dayne, friends from back home, Christy, and three witnesses in the wrong place at the wrong time. They looked over Nathan from their own safe distance, while Luke held him.

“What’s your emergency?” I never thought I’d be hearing that voice again. I let the operator know everything she needed to know, and in moments I heard sirens in the distance. I thanked the operator, let the phone go, and ran back to Nathan. I knelt with him and grabbed his hand. There was a haphazard chorus surrounding us.

“Nate, open your eyes!”

“Nay, wake up!”

“Nathan, say my name buddy.”

I kept Nate’s hand, and held my other up to quiet the others. Some of them stopped, and things slowed down a bit. I lowered my head to Nathan. The smell of vomit next to him: Why is he here? This could have happened to anyone, or better, to no one. But why would it happen to Nate? I leaned closer to him and spoke quietly, without urgency.

“Nathan, it’s Hooten. Listen buddy, I’m not asking you to move. Don’t open your eyes. You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to, but Nathan, do me a favor. Just squeeze my hand once, Nay.”

Everything was quiet, thick, underwater for a moment, while I held Nathan’s hand, resting on his chest. A moment of hesitation, then pressure from his hand. That was perfect. Everyone knew, for now, Nate was responding. And I knew at this point that once this was over he’d be Nathan again.

Silence fell when the ambulance approached. The paramedics asked their questions, and Nate fought them weakly while they lifted him to the stretcher. Nathan was pulling out in the ambulance, unconscious. The siren lights spat glares into our eyes while we tried to keep them dry. The hospital was close by, and we went straight there.

We arrived at the hospital, and from there the night was a blur of the few sterile emotions that hospitals allow. Luke sat at the desk to fill out paperwork that we were told was “necessary.” My mind wouldn’t stop working, so I dropped to the ground, slumped against the wall at Luke’s feet. I would have sat there all night if I could have, but news came and news left, and when a doctor told Luke to prepare for the worst, he turned around and walked out into the dark.

Luke:

As I rushed out of the car before it had come to a complete stop, the horror that had been running through my mind since I was at the top of the hill unfolded before my eyes. My little brother had actually fallen off his board. No helmet, unconscious and, to top it off, wedged facedown underneath the tire of a white Rav4. I can’t accurately describe the way I felt other than complete numbness. I searched around for a sympathetic gaze or a glint of hope in anyone’s eyes but couldn’t find one anywhere.

Naturally, I would have resorted to immediately losing my composure and proceed to break down immediately. However, instead of resorting to freaking the hell out, I asked my roommate, Hooty, to get a hold of the ambulance, which he did immediately. As we came to find out later, it was good that we had called as soon as we did or the outcome of the situation could have been much worse. So, as Hooty was on the phone with the 911 operator, I was dragging Nathan out from underneath the car attempting to keep his neck stabilized when it finally hit me how serious the situation was becoming. Nathan was out cold, with his bloodied head in my lap and road-rash-covered body sprawled out in front of the car. As I turned my head to look around for Hooty in hopes of an encouraging nod that the ambulance was on its way, I noticed three guys standing on the side of the road who had witnessed Nathan’s fall. Letting my curiosity get the best of me, I asked how bad it looked and the only response I received was the shaking of their heads followed by “Really, really bad.”

According to these guys, as well as Hooty, Nathan had been traveling at about 20-25 miles per hour when he fell off his 15-inch board, hit the ground, rolled for about 20 feet hitting his head the whole way.

When I turned my attention back to Nathan he had started to move a bit so I started to say his name in hopes of keeping him conscious until the ambulance arrived. Unfortunately, the reason he was moving around was not because he was coming back to consciousness but because he was about to throw up everything contained in his stomach. This is the only time you’re allowed to yak and bleed all over me by the way, Nay, so don’t get any ideas…

Eventually the ambulance arrived after what had seemed like hours. The paramedics wasted no time in getting me out of the way and setting Nathan up on a stretcher. Being the stubborn little (expletive) he is, Nathan felt it necessary to put up a fight (as he was half conscious, I may add) when his neck was being stabilized and he kept telling the paramedics to knock it off. After he was in the back of the ambulance, one of the paramedics told me I wasn’t allowed to ride along with Nathan. I didn’t waste a second and booked it back to school to grab my car and speed over to the hospital.

Upon arrival, I was directed to sit and wait patiently by a very, we’ll say stingy, ER nurse who also asked I attempt to fill out Nathan’s medical information to the best of my knowledge. At this point you’re probably asking where the heck our parents were. It turns out I was unable to get a hold of either of my parents because they were enjoying a nice evening with our younger siblings at Sea World… So after filling out the paperwork there was nothing left to do but wait. I doubt I need to explain how difficult that was, especially because I wasn’t allowed to get back and see Nathan until he was “stabilized.”

After sitting, pacing, praying, wishing and a bit of crying, I was finally approached by a small Asian man whose first words to me were, “You need to prepare for the worst. Have you been able to contact your parents yet?” As you can imagine, I was not at all happy to receive this news and began to quietly yell expletives not appropriate for this publication. The doctor seemed a bit taken aback and said I would need to wait to see Nathan until he felt the time was appropriate. By this point I wasn’t about to wait any longer to see Nathan, so I politely demanded that I was able to see my brother, immediately. To my amazement the doctor agreed and escorted me back to the holding room where Nathan was being evaluated. The sight when I walked into the room was horrific. There were tubes down his throat, nose and other unfortunate places as well as a number of beeping machines, one of which displayed his racing heart rate. This was the toughest experience of my life. I was directed to hold my brother’s arm down while the nurse inserted an IV with medicine that would hopefully help subdue Nathan into a coma. Since he was being so resistant they eventually had to strap him to the stretcher to prevent him from ripping out the tube that was stuffed down his throat.

Once Nathan was somewhat stable — according to the nurses, that is— the doctor advised me to attempt to get a hold of my parents once more. So I stepped out and tried, once again, to make the hardest phone call of my life.  This time I was successful and was happily greeted by the voice of my mother on the other end. I tried my best to spin the situation to her in the least dramatic way possible. However, as a mother, I can only imagine that hearing the words “Crash, ambulance, hospital” and the phrase “you need to be here” all used in the same sentence are by no means any reason to stay calm.

My mom telling me to go and tell Nathan that the whole family loved him very much and to stay strong until they got there only slapped me with another huge reality check. So, I continued to sit as Nathan was being wheeled off to undergo more brain scans to determine the severity of the situation in addition to whether surgery was going to be necessary.

I don’t remember how long I sat outside waiting for either the doctor to come out and speak to me or my family to arrive from San Diego, but I can tell you I’ve never had such a lump in my stomach. The thoughts running through my head were taking me places I never wanted to imagine and the only thing I wanted was to hear that my little brother was going to be OK.

In a frenzy, my family finally arrived at the hospital. There wasn’t much else we could do but wait in silence to hear back on Nathan’s condition. Fortunately, after the second CT scan, the doctor had the first bit of good information of the night. Nathan’s brain bleeding had not gotten any worse and they were going to move him out of the ER to intensive care. This is where he would spend the rest of his time in the hospital, three days in a medically induced coma and the rest in a haze attempting to heal and return to the Nathan we all know and love today.

Dad

Our family was in Del Mar, California enjoying fall break this October.  Nathan wanted to visit his brother, Luke, who is attending California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, Calif. His mother and I agreed that a couple-day trip to visit Luke at Cal Lu was a good idea. Nathan rode the Amtrak from Del Mar to LA with his backpack and skateboard.

We received numerous updates from Nate and Luke via text messages (what else?) keeping us informed of their whereabouts and fun. Life was good as Susan (my wife) and I were enjoying our youngest children (Rachel and Josh) while the older brothers bonded and Nathan could explore college life.

Nathan is a fairly accomplished skate boarder and is sponsored by skateboard companies.  He appears on web sites and has skated in competitions at a national level. Skating is a way of life for many young people and a necessary mode of transportation for kids on college campuses across the US. This trip to visit his brother was no exception as the plan was to break-in a new style board that Nathan had just purchased in Del Mar.

The dreaded phone call came on the evening of Oct. 14. It was early evening as Susan, Rachel, Josh and I had just watched the sun set over the ocean, a daily ritual for us while at the beach. Luke called from the accident site to inform us that Nathan had crashed on his board at a high rate of speed while descending down a steep hill. Luke was very distraught and we knew this was a serious accident. Further discussion with Luke revealed that Nathan had been airborne for 20-30 feet, landed on the back of his head and then proceeded to slam forcefully into a parked car.

We quickly (and somewhat frantically) packed up our car for the two-hour drive to Thousand Oaks from Del Mar.  As you may imagine, this was a very stressful drive. Susan called the emergency department to acquire any possible updates and any positive news on Nathan’s condition…there was no positive news. Many prayers were said and requested from friends and family as we made our way up the freeway toward LA.

Luke did the right thing by immediately dialing 911. The paramedics arrived and assessed Nathan, who was unconscious and posturing (exaggerated, rigid, non-controlled movements).  He was also actively vomiting at the accident scene. These are all serious signs that Nathan had a potentially life-threatening closed head injury or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). He was quickly transported to Los Robles Medical Center. Upon arrival to the emergency department, Nathan remained combative (another sign of head injury) and was also still vomiting and was in-and-out of the conscious state. The emergency physician administered a drug called Versed (a quick acting anesthetic) to render Nathan fully unconscious so that he could intubate him (plastic tube place into the windpipe) to control Nathan’s breathing and to protect his airway. He was further assessed by the trauma surgeon and his team for any additional injuries as IVs and CT scans were performed on Nathan’s head, chest, abdomen and extremities to reveal any further trauma. Nathan suffered only bumps, bruises and road rash with no other fractures or internal injuries to his body.

Nathan was then directly admitted to the ICU. He was placed on a ventilator and a drug called Propofol to place Nathan into a medically induced coma. This is done to help relax an agitated patient (common in head injuries) and to help reduce brain swelling in the cranium.

As you may have figured out by now, Nathan was not wearing a helmet.

One of the worst nightmares a parent can experience is walking into an ICU and seeing your child lying in a bed, hooked up to a ventilator with tubes and IVs placed in every vein and orifice of his body. This is a very revealing moment and there is no other time quite like the instant when you ask yourself if your child will live or die.

The first thing I requested was the report from the CT scan…it was not good news.  Nathan had fractured his skull along the parietal and occipital suture line (where the skull fuses along the side and back of the skull). He had also suffered a contra-coup type injury (French term for rebound). This occurs when you strike the back of your head with such force that your brain rebounds to the front of your skull and smashes into the inside of the skull causing an effusion (swelling). The life threatening circumstances were bleeding of the brain tissue and swelling into the skull.

The night was long as I listened to every breath of the ventilator, prayed to God and waited for the next CT scan to divulge Nathan’s fate. That night, when I was alone in Nathan’s room in the ICU, I wondered if my son was going to die or be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. It was a very long night.

The early morning CT scan revealed only a minor increase in the swelling of his brain so no invasive surgery was required at this point. He continued on the ventilator in a medically induced coma for three days. On the third day, Nathan extubated himself (pulled the tube from his windpipe). There were physician orders to remove the tube and take Nathan off the ventilator that same day, so Nathan just expedited the process.

Nate seemed to rest more peacefully now that he was off the ventilator. Gradually, as his condition improved, the IVs and tubes were removed one at a time. He began to speak and eat real food for the first time in days. Nate’s first questions were, what happened and where’s my cell phone? Gradually, Nathan was cleared to walk with assistance, shower with help and watch TV.  He did not want to watch TV as Nathan was experiencing blurred and double vision.

Nathan was released from Los Robles hospital six days from the incident. He and his mother flew home and the rest of us drove back to Tempe.

It has been over three months since his accident.

Sunday night, Oct. 16

I had woken up, but I hardly remember anything. That night, I remember trying to watch the TV but it just comes back to me as noise and nothing else. I do not remember seeing my family at all that night, but I know that they were all there. I believe I really wanted some Coke, for some weird reason, and they finally brought it to me. Well, that Coke taught me a lesson, because I vomited a few minutes after drinking it. These are the first images I remember after waking up from the coma.

Monday, Oct. 17- Thursday, Oct. 19

As time passed in the hospital, I felt like I had accepted what had happened, but had not really fathomed the seriousness of the situation simply because I didn’t remember anything that happened. I started to ease back into a more conscious state of mind and actually remember why I was there. Before this, apparently every time I woke up I asked what had happened, as well as apologized many times. One of the more interesting questions I asked my mom (which I don’t remember), was if I had died… Apparently she just laughed and said, “No Nathan, you did not die.”

I was on some serious drugs to kill the pain so I suppose that gives me an excuse for all the weird questions. My dad also shared with me that when they gave me morphine and I fell asleep, I was laughing, smiling, and making incoherent noises throughout my sleep. I’d love to know what was going on in that dream, but I guess I’ll never know!

I also remember the nurses making me go on walks, and these walks were not my favorite; I had terrible vision, it was blurry and there was two of everybody, and I just felt weird. I just had to keep my balance and move along. I remember seeing my brothers and sisters in the waiting room as I walked by, and they were laughing. My older sister Lauren had even flown out to be there from North Carolina! It was great to see them, and see them relieved and happy, but I later found out that they were laughing because the nurse had a leash around me preventing me from falling if it were to happen.

I was then discharged from the hospital less than a week after the accident, and spent the next night in a hotel. Once we got to the room in the hotel my mom lost our key, so I had to half consciously have a conversation with a maid in complete Spanish and she let us in. I then flew home to Arizona the next day.

It was great to be home and I felt better as I was picked up from the airport by my girlfriend, Kendall Rasmussen, wonderful woman, and my dad (he’s great too.)

Now the month-and-a-half after I was home was one of the more different and difficult times of my life, and it is hard to explain. I always seemed to have this weird feeling in my head; everything was abnormally bright, and whatever I looked at seemed like a movie. I believe this was because everything was so out of focus, and I had to really concentrate on everything. My vision was terrible for at least a month. It progressed from totally blurry and everyone having two heads, to somewhat clear; if I covered one eye I did not have double vision. The doctor did not let me return to school for another week, which was a good thing, because there was no way I was going to be able to manage school yet. I returned the Monday of Halloween for half days, and I did half days the next two weeks. Even half days were hard for me; it was hard to focus and my vision was still messed up. On top of that I was tired most of the time, and I forgot everything I did in school by the end of the day. Up until winter break I had two or more doctors appointments a week, which caused me to miss even more school. Even though I missed so much school, all my teachers were very helpful and understanding, which took tons of stress off the whole situation. I appreciate that, so a big thanks to all of you guys. My vision finally returned to normal by Thanksgiving, after a neuro-ophthalmologist appointment (a doctor that specializes in eye problems after traumatic brain injuries). The doctor dilated my eyes, and for some reason my vision seemed to progress back to normal after the dilation. The only symptom that I did not experience was headaches, which is great! I have not had one headache since the accident, not one.

By Thanksgiving weekend, I was able to go on hikes, attend Fine Gentlemen’s Clubs (FGC) meetings, and do other activities and start to return to my normal self. My post-accident MRIs came back and all has healed well. The only thing is a portion of the frontal left side of my brain is scar tissue, which means it is virtually dead brain. It seems scary, but doctors have not determined the function of that part of the brain, and I haven’t noticed anything different…yet.

Now, I would say I am back to 98 percent. The two percent accounts for the loss of my sense of smell, but I have acquired a new sense that I will not reveal. Anyways, I can’t smell a thing and it does mess with some of my taste factor. Some food tastes different and the entire flavor is not there like it used to be. Another effect is that I seem to have a slight short-term memory problem, but it is very minor. As long as I think hard about what I am trying to remember, it usually seems to come back to me. All of this seems depressing, but it’s really not. Out of all of the possible outcomes, effects, mental and personality differences that could have been a result, I am very thankful for only ending up with these minor effects.

According to Neurologist Scott Elton, my follow-up doctor in Arizona, the outcome could have been much worse.

“Despite having hemorrhages, brain swelling, and a fracture, you were actually functioning quite normally when you were first examined.  Had things progressed such that the hemorrhages or swelling had worsened the outcome may have been worse, including death,” Elton said.

The time it took from the scene of the accident, to the ER and finally examined by the neurologist was 45 minutes, and this was a big advantage to me.

“The two biggest advantages you had were the speed with which you were brought to the ER, Elton said.  In trauma, the ‘golden hour’ is considered the time period in which physicians have the greatest likelihood of creating a positive outcome, and secondly, that you were brought to a trauma center, where the medical personnel and resources are built around rapidly assessing and treating individuals with your type of injuries.”

Sustaining a concussion in the near future would definitely include many negative effects.

“Certainly concern over brain functioning and the efficiency with which the brain processes information would be raised,” Elton said.  As you suffered physical damage to your brain, any further damage (and it is really unknown to what extent physical damage occurs in concussions – which are slowing being retermed mild TBI [mTBI]) could potentially producing life changing and long-term effects.”

TBIs are the most common injury in young males, and Elton does a great job in explaining why.

“One of my favorite reminders of the demographics of TBI in young adults is the movie King Kong.  Any of them, from the 1930 version to the latest.  In particular, the end of the movies, when King Kong is up on the Empire State Building, with Ann Darrow hanging on, swatting at planes.  What do we have? A young male, trying to impress someone, up on high, doing something he shouldn’t be, and about to fall.  Why is this reminiscent of TBI demographics — because TBI, particularly in young adults, is dominated by males, usually not wearing a helmet, and falling off of something (either moving or stable).  And not infrequently doing something they know they shouldn’t be doing — no helmet, going too fast, etc.”

Dr. Norman Saba, my pediatrician, explains some statistics with TBI’s.

“Most will recover close to if not totally in cases of mild TBI, and in moderate

injuries (yours) almost 66 percent will have permanent disabilities whereas in severe

TBI 100% will be left with some type of disability.  The disabilities vary with

type of TBI as does the prognosis,” Saba said.“You had a very rapid recovery with respect to the nature of your injuries andwere very fortunate.  Your return to relatively normal function was faster than most who had an injury like yours,” Saba said.

I realized after this whole incident that put me “out of commission” for a bit sure did put Dad, Mom especially (she’s still worried), Luke, Lauren, Rachel, Josh, Kendall, the boys and girls at the accident, my friends, other families, teachers, assorted nurses, and many others through a lot of hell, and I’d like to apologize. Not only that, I would like to thank you all for your support, care, love, help, patience, prayers, dinners, cards, gifts, encouragements, concerns, understanding, and everything else you guys have done for me! It made my whole recovery process that much easier and less stressful. It also made me realize how much all of these people really do love and care about me; it means a lot. I really hope I do show these people how much I care and appreciate them as well.

Before this incident, it was always something I would hear about and only think about. But now that it has actually happened, it made me realize how short life is and how fragile it can be. I hope now that you have heard my story you realize this without going through anything like it. Trust me, knowing your loved ones are extremely stressed praying for you to hang onto your life is one of the worst feelings. Enjoy life while you can because death is inevitable; be careful, and stay positive with everything and towards everyone. Maybe wear a helmet too…

Special thank you to Luke, Hooty, and Dad for sharing your perceptions of my story.

• Rebecca White, Broken and Reconnected, 1st place Art Category “Best Of Show”
• Hannah Manuelito, Untitled, 1st place Photography Category
• Lauren Kelly, The Youth, 2nd place Art Category
• Brooke Ridley, 705 Ribbons and Reasons, 2nd place Photography category
• Melissa Ip, Driving Change, 3rd place Art Category
• Nina Ameli, French Connection, 3rd place Photography Category
• Caroline Bailey, Simply Black and White, Honorable Mention
• Amol Sachdeva, Technology and Us, Honorable Mention
• Michelle Chiang, Connection, Honorable Mention
• Mariam Dawoud, Catalyst, Honorable Mention
• Taylor Mathewson, Blur of the Unimportant, Honorable Mention

If you want something cheap, fun and relaxing to do on your boring nights, go to Zoolights for $10 on weekdays and $13 on weekends. If you go during the week there wont be as many people as there are on the weekends, so if you don’t like crowds of people it might be best to go during the week.

I had the chance to go to Zoolights on a recent Sunday. I thought I was really relaxed because you can go on a nice walk while looking at the beautiful lights on the animals’ cages, as well as the trees.

Some of the animal sculptures were lit up such as lions, peacocks, and giraffes. These lights were very bright and vibrant and really lit up the night.

This is a good way to have fun and bond with the family.  When I went you could see the lights from a mile away. Although it was really beautiful with the lights lit up, it was a little cold so dress

Boys, if you’re looking for a romantic place for that special someone then Zoolights is the place for you.

I highly recommend Zoolights to a wide variety of people. I thought it was worth the money. It may seem like a lot to you, but it gives you something to do on your boring nights.

The month kicks off with Ashura, which is an Islamic/Muslim holiday celebrated on Dec. 5. The word “ashura” means “10^th,” as it is celebrated on the 10^th day of Muharram, which is the first month of the Islamic year. People of the Muslim faith spend this day fasting.

The next holiday celebrated is St. Nicholas Day, which is celebrated worldwide by people of the Catholic faith on Dec. 6. This day was created in order to celebrate Saint Nicholas and his life. St. Nicholas was well known for giving to needy people, especially children. Santa Claus later emerged from the idea of St. Nick.

On Dec. 8, Buddhists celebrate Bodhi Day. This day commemorates the journey that Siddhartha Gotama, the Buddha, experienced to reach enlightenment. Many Buddhists celebrate this day by meditating, chanting, listening to speeches and feasting.

December’s trend of holidays continues with Hanukkah, which is celebrated by people of the Jewish faith worldwide. Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days and eight nights, beginning on the 25^th of the Jewish month of Kislev, which corresponds to the 8th of December this year.

“It’s celebrated because of the miracle of the oil not going out and the victory over the Syrians,” sophomore Rebecca Abraham said. “The Syrians completely trashed the temple, I’m not quite sure of its name, but when they went to restore the temple there was only the little jar of oil, which lasted for eight days instead of the one day it should have.”

Hanukkah is traditionally celebrated with the lighting of the menorah.

“We light the menorah at night and have a feast on the first and last night of Hanukkah,” sophomore Lily Engel said. “We usually get a small gift every night.”

In Mexico, the 12^th of December is the day to celebrate the Virgin of Guadalupe. Back in 1531, the Virgin of Guadalupe is said to have appeared to a man named Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill, uniting the native Aztecs and the Spanish conquerors. From then on she has been the patron and symbol of Mexico.

If you’re Swedish, then perhaps you celebrate Santa Lucia Day. Every year, on Dec. 13, a statue of Santa Lucia is carried around the city of Syracusa to honor her death for the Christian faith. A martyr, she died because of the Romans’ hatred of the Christians. At the time she was killed, being a Christian in the Roman Empire was forbidden, so when she was discovered as a Christian follower she was killed.

A major holiday celebrated in Mexico is the Posadas, which occur during the 16^th-25^th of December. These nine days signify the nine months of which Mary carried Jesus in her womb.

The 25^th of December marks the day that millions of people around the globe celebrate Christmas. Christmas tells of the birth of Jesus, whom many people believe to be the Son of God or the Messiah.

“It’s about Jesus’ birth, but its also about giving love to your family and showing that you care about them,” sophomore Hannah Kimball said.

Boxing Day is a holiday, which is mostly celebrated in Canada, but is also seen in Britain and other countries, on Dec. 26. It allows people to watch ice hockey games or participate in post-Christmas sales.

The last holiday in the month of December is Kwanzaa, which is celebrated by African Americans in the U.S. Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday, as it was created to honor African-American heritage and culture.

Celebrating your faith is an important tradition to people across the world and the great diversity of holidays during December shows the great diversity in our everyday world. Happy Holidays everyone!

“I have somewhere around 275-300 pairs of shoes,” Jannuzzi said. “I don’t even know what got me so into shoes; I’ve always liked them but when I got a pair from Greece with a clear sole, that is when my quest for unique shoes began.”

For most collectors, their possessed items become fairly expensive. The average woman will spend somewhere around $25,000 on shoes in her lifetime. Spending so much money on shoes doesn’t seem all that reasonable to most people. How can you be a responsible shopper but have an insane number of shoes?

“I love shoes but I like a bargain. Some of my shoes are expensive but I do shop at sales; I will not shop beyond my means. And I don’t have any credit card debt,” Jannuzzi said. “Shoes are worth it, I think. You can have a bad hair day or a ‘fat day’ and a cute pair of shoes can always make you feel good.”

Throughout the entire school year Jannuzzi will not wear a pair of shoes more than once; after she wears a pair she will turn them the opposite way from how she found them so she knows not to wear them again.

“I have probably 10 to 12 pairs of shoes that I have never worn; I don’t really know why. I think they’re more of seasonal shoes and the right occasion just hasn’t occurred yet,” Jannuzzi said.

Most people have been on trips that they will never forget; it’s not always the beautiful scenery that reminds someone of where they have been but the things they buy while they are there that give them that happy feeling inside. Jannuzzi’s top choice for a souvenir is definitely shoes.

“The shoes I like the most are the ones associated with trips because it reminds me of all the beautiful places I’ve been,” Jannuzzi said. “Mrs. (Leah) Fleming and Mr. (Tim) Kelly have both gotten me shoes before. Mrs. Fleming’s mom has actually called me telling me she was going to send me a picture of a pair of shoes because she wanted to know if I would like them.”

“My mom was in Paris and called me about a pair of shoes for Ms. Jannuzzi; she didn’t even get me a pair,” Fleming said.

If you have yet to have Ms. Jannuzzi as a teacher, you now know what to get her to win her heart. And don’t worry about what kind of shoes they are or where you get them because her shoes range from Japan and all the way to a pair of Tom’s from Whole Foods.

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