The youngsters looked on in stunned disbelief as Kevin
Browne, research specialist in Neurosurgery, pulled 'his' spinal cord out from under his shirt. It was a funny moment but the message he was
teaching them was very serious: Protect your spinal cord -- and brain -- by
making safe choices.
Browne’s moment of 'magic' was part of an outreach effort by Penn's Center for Brain Injury Repair to reach – and teach – children and teens to "protect your body by using your mind," he said. "Everyone knows about breast cancer but they don’t understand the toll of traumatic brain injury."
Indeed, traumatic injury is the
leading cause of death and disability among children and young adults. In the
Traumatic injury is the leading cause of death and disability among children and young adults.
To help get the important message out, CBIR joined forces with the ThinkFirst National Injury Prevention Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing these types of injuries through education, research and policy. ThinkFirst provides CBIR with educational programs tailored to fit the needs of different age groups. For example, the program for first- and second-graders features a cartoon hero who teaches about safety through an animated video and song. The program targeting high-schoolers includes a VIP (Voices for Prevention) speaker, a teen who has suffered a traumatic brain or spinal cord injury.
(L. to r.) Robin Armstrong, Kevin Browne, and Lori Fowler-Gagliari holding the ‘tools’ that help them get the word out about making safe choices.
Using models of the spinal cord and brain, Fowler-Gagliardi talked to the young students about what she sees in a hospital as a result of bad decisions. “She told all of the children to ‘ThinkFirst’ so she’d never have to see them there,” said Armstrong, whose own egg demonstration proved to be a big hit.
“I dropped two eggs from the same height as where their head would be on a bike. The first had no protection and cracked,” she said. “The second was enclosed in Styrofoam, simulating a helmet, and landed safely.” She also warned the children of other possible dangers, such as diving into a lake or pool without knowing how deep it is, or standing in the “danger zone” by a bus, the driver’s blind spot.
Two eggs were dropped from the height of where a child's head would be when riding a bike. One egg was wrapped in styrofoam, simulating a helmet. The lesson in these photos? Wear a helmet!
Armstrong said bike helmets have become very popular in the last 10 years but “now we want to see them in other sports as well, such as skiing and horseback riding. She said they also hope to spread their message to the senior community. “Traumatic brain injury from falls is also a leading cause of death in this age group.”
“We want to create a strong outreach program, to get the word out about brain injury,” Browne said.
Armstrong agreed. “There is no cure for brain injury except prevention.”
For more information or if you’re interested in having a ThinkFirst presentation at a school or youth event, please visit http://www.med.upenn.edu/cbir/EducationOutreach.shtml.
