RIP Sarah Burke

Admin's note: ScottyJack - I hope you don't mind that I hijacked your thread. I thought it would be good if this thread started with the press release from Powder.com. Thanks to ski2moro for the link:

January 19, 2012

Groundbreaking Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke passed away at 9:22 a.m., January 19, 2012, at the University of Utah Hospital from injuries sustained in an accident on the Eagle Superpipe at Park City Mountain Resort on Tuesday, January 10, 2012. She was training for upcoming winter events.

As the result of Sarah’s fall, she suffered a ruptured vertebral artery, one of the four major arteries supplying blood to the brain. The rupture of this artery led to a severe intracranial hemorrhage, which caused Sarah to go into cardiac arrest on the scene. Emergency personnel responded and CPR was administered on the scene during which time she remained without a pulse or spontaneous breathing. Studies in the University of Utah Hospital Emergency Department indicated that she retained brainstem function. She was placed on life support and a protocol of therapeutic hypothermia was initiated to protect her brain. An angiogram indicated the site of arterial bleeding, and on Wednesday, January 11 the injured artery was successfully repaired.

After the operation, numerous neurological examinations, electrodiagnostic tests and imaging studies revealed that Sarah sustained severe irreversible damage to her brain due to lack of oxygen and blood after cardiac arrest, resulting in hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. Sarah passed away peacefully surrounded by those she loved. In accordance with Sarah’s wishes, her organs and tissues were donated to save the lives of others.

While early reports in the media stated that Sarah’s injury was a traumatic brain injury, it is important to note that Sarah’s condition was the result of a lack of oxygen to the brain during cardiac arrest.

The family wishes to express their deep gratitude to Sarah’s dear friends for their love and support, and for traveling to Salt Lake City to comfort the family.

They would also like to thank the University of Utah Hospital and her physicians and care team in the Neuro Critical Care Unit for their incredible care and compassion.

The family was moved by the sincere and heartfelt sympathy expressed by people inspired by Sarah from all around the world. They have received a substantial number of inquiries from those who would like to make a contribution on behalf of Sarah. For more information, please go to http://www.giveforward.com/sarahburke.

A public celebration of Sarah’s life will be held in the coming weeks.

Sarah Burke.

So sad...

That is so sad..

So sad.

She died doing what she loved.  And it could happen to any one of us any day. It seems that her accident was not some violent fall from her sport, but from a fall that could have happened to any of us.  

Hug your family.  Tell them you love them.

Nice article in Powder Magazine  http://www.powdermag.com/stories/sarah-burke-dies-from-injuries/

Very sad...RIP

ski2moro wrote

 It seems that her accident was not some violent fall from her sport, but from a fall that could have happened to any of us.

Not exactly. She came down from probably 10-15 feet onto the lip of an extremely hardpacked halfpipe, on her side. There's a picture out there somewhere, but I couldn't find it.

Regardless, it's extremely tragic indeed. She was quite possibly the most progressive women freeskier out there.

Rest in Peace.

From Midland, Ontario to our hearts.

Rest In Peace...may you Rip In Pow forever in Heaven and in our minds.



Deepest sympathies to her husband, family and many friends.

Terrible loss, so young, so talented, very sad. RIP.

Oh.

I was going off what I had read here...

http://www.powdermag.com/stories/sarah-burke-seriously-injured-in-crash/
By Tim Mutrie
Published: Jan. 10, 5:48 p.m. MST
Veteran halfpipe skier Sarah Burke sustained a serious head injury in a crash at Park City Mountain Resort this afternoon. She was airlifted by helicopter to University Hospital in Salt Lake City.

Burke, 29, of Squamish, B.C., was training in the halfpipe with fellow Monster Energy team riders. Around 1 p.m., she landed a trick off of the wall on her feet at the bottom of the pipe, but then “whiplashed” over onto her side, according to person who witnessed the accident. She was obviously injured, said the witness, who spoke to Powder.com on condition of anonymity. Ski patrol stabilized her at the scene of the accident and transported her to the base of the mountain, according to the Park Record newspaper.

I never got the "She died doing what she loved" thing.  Is that any consultation for someone dying at 29?  It's a horrible situation, but it's a situation where she knew the risks, and she decided to go for it anyway.  I mean, she's probably one of the first people to die after a fall in the halfpipe, but that kind of thing was bound to happen eventually (especially with people pushing the boundaries further and further). I'm just having a hard time feeling as bad in this situation as I did when CR Johnson had his freak accident and was put into a medically induced coma.  

I guess the important thing to get out of all of this is that you have to be aware of the risks you take when you're out on the hill. I've been wearing my helmet this year a lot more than I usually do (which is good because I've rattled my head pretty hard a couple of times teaching park lessons).  And I just ordered a beacon, probe and shovel for when I go to Alaska this spring.  It's a dangerous sport, but there are some things that we can do to mitigate the risks.  

RIP

Tear it up in Heaven Sarah ,save some snow for us.

CONTENTS DELETED

RIP

mattchuck2 wrote

I never got the "She died doing what she loved" thing.  Is that any consultation for someone dying at 29?  It's a horrible situation, but it's a situation where she knew the risks, and she decided to go for it anyway.  I mean, she's probably one of the first people to die after a fall in the halfpipe, but that kind of thing was bound to happen eventually (especially with people pushing the boundaries further and further). I'm just having a hard time feeling as bad in this situation as I did when CR Johnson had his freak accident and was put into a medically induced coma.  

I guess the important thing to get out of all of this is that you have to be aware of the risks you take when you're out on the hill. I've been wearing my helmet this year a lot more than I usually do (which is good because I've rattled my head pretty hard a couple of times teaching park lessons).  And I just ordered a beacon, probe and shovel for when I go to Alaska this spring.  It's a dangerous sport, but there are some things that we can do to mitigate the risks.

I'd rather die (quickly) doing something I love if I had the choice. It's part of life. It's short so enjoy it while it lasts.

“To die doing what you love” is not so much about dying, really.  It’s about living while doing what you love.  To die at 29 is a tragedy.  To live doing what you love is pure joy.  

Steve Jobs said it best when he said that …”your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

The tragic death of someone like Sarah Burke should make us stop and think that even when you are healthy, a long life is not guaranteed.  A life-ending accident can happen in the blink of an eye.   Certainly Sarah Burke knew the risks and accepted them.

I think that point is to choose to live our lives doing what gives us happiness.  Don’t wait for the right moment to do great things.  Be inspired by the example of Sarah Burke to live life to the fullest.  

ski2moro wrote

The tragic death of someone like Sarah Burke should make us stop and think that even when you are healthy, a long life is not guaranteed.  A life-ending accident can happen in the blink of an eye.

Let's also not forget the tragedy at Hunter Mountain this week, more testimony to the point, life is short and fleeting ... always live it to its fullest, no matter what others think.

very sad to see someone so gifted and beautiful taken doing something we all love. was nice to hear her and her family chose organ donation to help others in their time of great loss (from the father of a transplant recipient) may her family and friends find many blessings, strength and peace

70s Gore Kid wrote

So sad.
 
Does anyone else think that the halfpipe, and Freestyle events, have gone too far and become too dangerous the past few years?  

This was the second highly publicized tragic injury on that Park City halfpipe.

The jumps are as high as 20 feet on top of a 30 foot wall.  Sean White has brought a lot of excitement to winter sport, but the freestyle risks are astronomically higher than they were in the days of Phil Mahre or even The Herminator or Bode.

Who here really wants their 15 year old to start training for the X Games halfpipe team?

think of it this way, someone just starting off skiing looks at someone skiing rumor and says "thats soo steep and dangerous i would never want to ski that." and yet someone like you me or anyone else who can ski that without much thought put into it dont think much of it. same goes for everyone in the professional freeskiing world. they are experts at what they do and for them im sure a switch cork 900 over a 70ft jump is like us skiing rumor.

its a tragic death and she will be deeply missed, she did a lot for the womens side of freeskiing.