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A young girl who collided with a tree when skiing at Afton Alps in Minnesota last week may have died had she not been wearing a helmet, according to a doctor who treated her.
The six-year-old broke her nose and her leg in the accident, but a dent in her helmet appears to indicate it saved her from more serious head trauma. “The helmet is probably the thing that saved her from truly serious injury,” Dr. Michael McGonigal, head of trauma services at the hospital which treated the girl told local media. He said it’s a risk faced by all skiers, especially amateurs.
And he said he hoped Julia’s accident would offer an example to parents about the difference a helmet can make for their kids. “You’ve got to make them believe it,” McGonigal said. “You’ve got to get them tuned in with the people that are doing it, and probably one of the most important things is to get them involved in wearing those things at a very young age, so it’s just a natural thing.”