Great Britain’s The Independent talks to Britain’s top pro surfer Gwen Spurlock about brain injuries that nearly left her dead after slamming numerous times during the 2008 launch of a “standing wave boardrider” machine at Swansea’s The LC, her hometown’s waterpark. After weeks of headache Spurlock went in for a CT scan.
The scan revealed a major bleed on the brain that doctors believed had been caused by something akin to shaken- baby syndrome from all her falls. Within days she was being operated on and having two holes the size of 10p pieces drilled into her skull to drain off the fluid. Despite the seriousness of the operation, Gwen seemed to be recovering well, but this turned out to be only the beginning of her worries. . . The headaches had not gone and fluid was seeping from the original cyst and building up on the edge of her brain. It needed an urgent and highly risky operation to redirect it. When the operation was over, Gwen awoke from the anaesthetic only for a moment before falling unconscious.
Thankfully, Gwen survived, but we all came much closer to losing her than we ever imagined. Click the link for the rest of the story. . .
[Link: The Independent]
