
The Irish Central first reported that actress Natasha Richardson,45 the wife of Irish actor Liam Neeson, and the mother of their two sons, sustained a traumatic brain injury while skiing in Canada. The details of the accident and her injuries are not fully known at this time.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when there has been a sudden trauma that causes damage to the brain. There is often a violent impact to the skull or it can occur when an object pierces the skull and damages brain tissue.
Depending on the severity of the trauma and the location of the brain injury the damage can be severe as a coma or result in such losses as certain cognitive functions (thinking, memory) sensory functions ( sight, smell, etc.) communication skills (receptive or expressive language) or behavioral impairments, such as poor impulse or mood changes.
Actor George Clooney also suffered from a TBI while filming SYRIANNA, but after a proper diagnoses and treatment he was able to recover with minimal lasting impairment. The hope is that Natasha too will make a full recovery.