Janet Powell, CFSP Mortician,
Powell Mortuary Services
It is most difficult for me to pass a cyclist on a bike who makes a choice to ride without a helmet. I have, at a stop light given my business card to a cyclist. They look at me in shock and say, “Ok…I’ll get it.” Yes, they say they’ll get it, meaning they don’t have the helmet with them. Vanity kills.
Troubling for all of us is the potential loss of both men and women who ride invincibly, like death could never happen to them. Many think that the helmet takes away their “cool”. The reality is that the morgue is a cool place. If a crash occurs, the head injury is the major trauma. A person who sustains a critical head injury can be kept alive long enough to become what is called a donor body.
Donor bodies fit the criteria for the organ transplants of bones, skin and other organs that are below the neck. I’ve made it a personal mission to tell bikers to wear a helmet at all times. I use my business card to frighten those who need fear to be realistic about the horrors of a crash. I must say, the card and I have been received well. I have seen and witnessed the results of both the physical destruction of a rider and the unnecessary pain for family and friends.
I encourage all of you to be proactive about passing this information to all you see who ride without the proper gear. From a tricycle to a high powered motor machine, a helmet will save the head it’s on.
