THE PHONE CALL EVERY PARENT DREADS….

My wife, Jenni, wrote this...

Almost two years ago, I received a phone call that still haunts me to my very core. On the other end of the phone was my son’s best friend in a panic, telling me that my son had been in an accident, was bleeding and severely injured. It is a phone call that you hope that you will never receive. It was most definitely a surreal moment. I was hearing the words but it wasn’t quite computing in my brain. One of my worst fears became my reality that November evening. The first question out of my mouth was…did he hit his head?

Unbeknownst to me, my 17-year-old son and two friends decided to go cliff jumping in Palos Verdes, California. It took thirty minutes of hiking and swimming to get to the spot where they would foolishly, and against all good judgment, jump into the beautiful Pacific Ocean. My son Eric climbed up the backside of the cliff where most would not dare to climb. He wanted to get to a jumping off point higher up the cliff, however the route to this point was not over the water. Almost at the top, he reached for a shale ledge that broke free from the cliff. Falling over eighteen feet, Eric remembers thinking that this was it! Before hitting a large boulder below, he believed that he was going to die.

Terrified, his buddies rushed to his side. There was no way to call for help from this remote area. It was not easy to get there, and it certainly would not be easy to get back to their starting point with an injured person. Eric was losing a great deal of blood from his hand and had several other injuries. Since it was impossible for the ambulance to reach Eric, he would have to make the trip back to the parking area, or wait for a helicopter to transport him to the hospital. Conscious and fearful about the amount of blood that he was losing, he knew that he had to muster the energy to make his way back. Halfway through the journey back to civilization, a young man training to be an EMT used his surfboard leash to make a tourniquet for Eric’s wrist.    

With both friends by his side, and the help of a kind stranger, he continued the swim through the water, hoping that the stream of blood would not attract a shark. When they reached the end of hike, the emergency team was waiting for them when they arrived. My husband and I beat the emergency team to the hospital and when they opened the ambulance doors to reveal my son, I was relieved to see that at the very least, he was in one piece.

Despite broken bones and thirty-four stitches, Eric was going to be released from the hospital that evening. How this kid of mine escaped catastrophic and lifelong injuries was beyond me. The doctor that took care of my son was truly surprised that he did not hit his head and have a concussion. How was it possible that after falling eighteen feet he did not rattle his brain upon impact?

Is it possible that having a strong neck saved his brain and his life? It is my belief that he may have had a guardian angel by his side that day. No one really knows, however it is plausible that having a muscular body and a strong neck may have been a factor in the outcome. Eric described turning his body, like a cat, during the fall to avoid falling on his back and hitting his head. When he smashed into the rocks, his neck was strong enough to keep his head from whipping and crashing into the rocks. Prior to the fall he had added an inch and a half of muscle to his neck after training with his dad’s product, The Iron Neck- a device that strengthens the rotary muscles of the neck. 

According to Ralph Cornwell, Ph.D., bigger and stronger necks can better absorb a blow with less deformation. If the foundation is strong, then the head is better supported and the brain is better protected. Dr. Cornwell states that a stiffer spring- “stronger neck” deflects greater frontal or side impact forces. Dr. Robert Cantu states that most injuries and/or concussions occur from a rotary blow to the head or body, and that a concussion is nerve strain caused largely from rotation of the brain. Eric may be living proof that a bigger, stronger neck gives an athlete a better chance of avoiding injuries.  

On a lighter note, I used to thank my lucky stars that my son chose volleyball as his sport of choice, rather than football. Who would have thought that he would choose rock climbing/cliff diving as an extra curricular activity? I guess I forgot to have that talk with him that my parents had with me….If all of your friends jumped off a cliff, then would you too?