Hutchison Students Learn About the Importance of Helmets

Sixth grade students at Hutchison Elementary School were wowed when they were handed human organs during an assembly about brain injury and helmets on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011. 

Dr. Paul Aravich of the Brain Injury Association and associate professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School discussed the importance of helmets on saving lives and reducing the risk of brain injury while bicycling. He talked about how the different parts of the brain can impact people's abilities and personalities.

Students were also encouraged to create social change by encouraging peers to wear helmets, making sure their town has a bicycle helmet law and going into science to help cure brain-related diseases, such as Alzheimers.

During the presentation Aravich passed human organs around the room, including a brain and spinal cord. He explained that the organs were donated and are sacred, and discussed the importance of organ donation and how it can save lives. 

Doug Landau of Herndon's Landau Law Firm spoke about bicycle safety to the group of students. Landau is an avid cyclist and represents many atheletes who have been injured. He explained that a head injury on a bicycle can result in expensive hospital bills, months of inactivity and bedrest, along with the injuries received. 

Landau offered the following safety tips to students:
• Wear a helmet
• Use the chin strap
• Make sure it fits correctly—it should be snug enough that when you smile you feel the helmet tug down on your head
• Ensure the helmet isn't too old and hasn't expired (they have expiration dates inside)
• Inspect the helmet for cracks that could make it ineffective

After the presentation students were fitted and given their own bicycle helmets that were collected and donated by Landau Law Firm.