Teenagers Get Brain Injuries Too

Teenagers Get Brain Injuries Too

Testosterone and alcohol fuelled after ball parties can lead to much more serious consequences than a few embarrassing photos on Facebook or the indignity of falling asleep in a pile of your own vomit. New Zealand’s teenagers are at risk of serious brain injury or even death as a consequence of excess alcohol consumption, so says the Brain Injury Association of New Zealand.

And they should know; the Brain Injury Association (BIA) deals in the stark statistics and the aftermath of what might have started as a ‘harmless few drinks’ amongst friends. And the truth is New Zealand’s teenagers are putting themselves and their families at great risk of a life of hardship and tragedy, all for the sake of a drink.

If BIA President John Clough sounds a little dramatic when describing the consequences in such case studies, he is not apologizing. Clough believes parents and caregivers must be the ones to lead the way when it comes to our teenagers, the future of our communities and our country.

“The consequences of a night consuming too much alcohol for the majority might be an appearance to regret on Facebook or having to be cleaned up by friends or family after arriving home comatose in the back of a taxi.

“For too many though the consequences are much worse and will affect them and their families for a lifetime. For some the fall in the gutter might be the last time they do anything unaided. For some their final few slurred words are the final words they speak that have any meaning. For some the consequences of that ‘harmless drink’ and letting their hair down are suffered by many through a lifetime of rehabilitation and 24 hour care.

“Is it really worth it for a few drinks?”

Clough knows the answer to that very rhetorical question; the BIA has been dealing with the aftermath of such tragedy for years now and is looking to be more than just the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.

“It is our role to care for victims of Brain Injury and in New Zealand that amounts to 90 people a day and many hundreds more affected as family or friends. Our people deal with this sort of tragedy every day, something that can be caused by one wrong decision, one wrong step. And they will continue to do this work with a passion to help those who can’t help themselves.

“Our focus now though is just as much about education and ensuring that New Zealanders young and old are not put in the situation where their decision making is impaired in any way or where they increase the risk of a brain injury. The BIA needs to ring-fence that cliff top with the result being fewer victims arriving at the ambulance at the bottom needing help, often when it is too late.

“But to think that people still want to ‘supply’ alcohol to our teenagers, some of whom do not possess the maturity or the understanding to make rational and sensible decisions. It beggars belief and we need to come to our senses for the sake of our kids, if not our own well being.”

Clough’s statement is borne out by the bare statistics, which doesn’t do justice to the victims who are amongst the 90 per day to suffer a brain injury, let alone the countless hundreds more per day who are affected through family and friend networks.

Young drivers cause nearly half of the alcohol related road crashes in New Zealand and before they even get behind the wheel of a car sober or alcohol impaired, male drivers aged 15 to 19 are 7 times more likely to crash than drivers aged 45 to 49 while the figure drops slightly to 6 times for female drivers.

But this is driving alone, just one of the possible ways in which alcohol can impair someone’s judgment and potentially impact on their lives and those of their family and friends.

“Our teenagers are impressionable and easily led creatures, prone to peer pressure and the dangers that racing hormones can lead to,” says Clough.

“Situations can quickly become out of hand and a push and shove can lead to a stray punch, a fall and a collision with serious consequences. While I am not advocating we lock them up and don’t let them out until they reach adulthood, it is us as adults, parents and caregivers that must do what we can to ensure their safety.”

ENDS

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