“No doubt. Without it I would not be here. I will always protect my head after what I’ve done because it’s the most important thing and you only get one brain.”
Big fans of head protection here at Unofficial and we applaud Ryder Heuston for his ski helmet advocacy after nearly dying in a nasty crash off Pyramid Rock at Breckenridge Ski Resort. Ryder was 17 when the accident happened back in 2018. He missed the landing by a foot and came down hard on a rock. Heuston broke his back and his skull, suffered a traumatic brain injury and shattered all the bones in his face, except his jaw. His helmet was totally thrashed, split down the middle, but it also saved his life.
Heuston spent 18 days in an intensive care unit and had his face reconstructed with 36 screws and six plates. He underwent a ton of therapy to learn to walk and eat again and work on his memory and language skills. Eleven months later, he was back on the slopes. He says he still has some issues with stuttering and he lost his sense of smell, but if he wasn’t wearing his bucket the outcome would have been far worse. If you have a buddy who is a hold out on getting a helmet, send this over and kindly ask them to listen to Ryder’s message. Be safe out there folks.