Pret Saved My Life by Joe DeBlasio
On a recent Saturday at Stratton Mountain, Vermont, Pret Ambassador, Joe DeBlasio got first chair with his buddies. It was a typical east coast ski day with overcast skies and hard snow pack.
Things took an unexpected turn for Joe on the first run when, due to low visibility, he hit a roller, landed off-balance, found himself sliding head-first into a line of trees at 40 mph.
Joe made impact with a series of tree, and miraculously, never lost consciousness. His gear was scattered around him, and his helmet, the Cirque X, lay in pieces on the snow. Joe had the wind knocked out of him, but seemed to be fine otherwise. He somehow skied to the bottom to check in with ski patrol, and again, miraculously, passed all concussion protocol tests.
Joe's helmet, however, was unlike anything anyone had seen, and they recommended he get a CT scan. Joe did get a CT scan which revealed a minor brain hemorrhage that needed monitoring. Considering the state of Joe's helmet and how fast he hit the trees, it truly is incredible that a minor hemorrhage is the only thing they found wrong.
Joe has absolutely zero doubt that if he had not been wearing a helmet, and specifically a helmet with MIPS, he would not be alive. Wearing a helmet has never been a question for Joe. He has seen other people end up in far worse shape after taking much lower impact crashes, all because those people weren't wearing helmets.
"I hit a tree at 40mph and I walked away with seemingly very mild injuries; a small brain bleed and a few bruises on my back and shoulders. Amazingly, I didn't die. At a minimum I should’ve been throwing up, dizzy, light sensitive, forgetful, and showing all other concussion symptoms. I'm alive, and I'm okay. Because of Pret."
We're very happy to hear Joe's story and hope it will help you with your decision to wear a helmet.
Ski safe friends!