TORONTO -- The artery that ruptured when freestyle skier Sarah Burke fell during a training run is one of the most critical blood vessels in the body, feeding oxygen-rich blood to the brain stem, neurosurgeons say. Burke, 29, died Thursday of her injuries in the University of Utah Hospital, nine days after the accident at the Park City Mountain Resort. Its the brain stem, located at the bottom of the brain and tucked inside the back of the skull, that controls breathing and heart function. "Basically there are four major blood vessels that bring blood to the brain, and two are at the back of the head, come up from the back," explained Dr. Michael Cusimano, a neurosurgeon at St. Michaels Hospital in Toronto. "Theyre called the vertebral arteries because they come through the bones of the neck and then get to the brain," he said. The two other major arteries, called the carotids, run up the front of the neck. It was one of her vertebral arteries that Burke tore when she crashed at the training site, causing whats called a massive intercranial hemorrhage, in which blood poured into her brain. Doctors say the severe brain injury caused Burke to go into cardiac arrest. In other words, her heart stopped beating and she was no longer breathing on her own, resulting in a lack of oxygen to the brain. "So right on the scene of this mountain where she was on, where she was training, her heart stopped," said Cusimano. "And so it was probably that the artery was partly torn and that led to this bleeding that her heart stopped." Paramedics at the scene gave Burke CPR and she was transferred to the Utah Hospital emergency department, where she was put on a ventilator, or breathing machine, and a procedure called therapeutic hypothermia was initiated to control swelling of the brain tissues. "They purposely put her into whats called hypothermia," Cusimano said. "When the brains been damaged, one of the ways of treating it is by cooling the body, and cooling the brain to protect the brain. So they were hoping to try to protect her brain so that it might show some recovery." The next day, surgeons were able to successfully repair her torn vertebral artery, a tricky operation that Ottawa pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Vassilyadi said demands a lot of skill. "Its very difficult to do." But tests following the operation, including numerous neurological examinations, electrodiagnostic tests and imaging studies, revealed that the skier had sustained grave and irreversible brain damage caused by the lack of oxygen after her cardiac arrest. The condition is called hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. "In general, any decreased perfusion (of blood) to the brain can cause what we call ischemia because with the blood you have oxygen," said Vassilyadi of Childrens Hospital of Eastern Ontario. "You have less blood, less oxygen to the brain. And then you could get a stroke as a result of the decreased oxygenation to the brain." Following Burkes death Thursday, her organs and tissues were donated for transplantation, according to her wishes, said a statement from her publicist. "I think its a tragic thing," Cusimano said of Burkes death. "It happened and its one of the risks. I dont know what else to say. It just tells us how fragile our lives are and how things can change in an instant. What can you say? She probably loved skiing and loved doing the things she was doing."
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B.C.s other points came on a conceded safety and Paul McCallums two field goals and four converts. Montreals points came on touchdown receptions by S.J. Green and Brandon London. Both TD passes were thrown by Josh Neiswander, the third Alouettes quarterback used in the game. The Als recovered two fumbles, by Lulay and Harris, and also had an interception in the first half, but could not convert the turnovers into decent field position, let alone points. Jerald Browns interception was hampered by two unnecessary roughness penalties on the play. On one, Shea Emry unwisely nailed Lulay from behind as he was running down field. The Lions got on the scoreboard first as Montreal punter Sean Whyte conceded a safety. B.C. went 5-0 on a Paul McCallum 22-yard field goal in the first quarter increased its lead to 8-0 on another in the second quarter from 43 yards. After McCallums second field goal, Alouettes starting quarterback Jesse Marsh, who had burned the Lions in a last-second loss in Montreal in their previous meeting Aug. 22, was pulled in favour of Troy Smith, who won the 2006 Heisman Trophy. But Smith did little on only two running plays before B.C. got the ball again, and would be replaced by Marsh soon afterwards. Lulay completed a 58-yard pass to Courtney Taylor, who managed to stay in bounds after Chip Cox turned him around on the sideline but could not bring him down. One play later, Lulay threw a 14-yard touchdown strike to Gore, staking the Lions to a 15-0 lead. Two plays later, Jerome Messam dropped the ball on a forced fumble and B.C.s Cord Parks recovered. The Als gained a reprieve when Harris fumbled on a reverse on third-and-one to nullify a B.C. scoring drive with 28 seconds before half-time. But the Als ran out of time before they could get in scoring range. 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However, Eric Taylor was called on an illegal block on the play, so B.C. had to settle for possession on Montreals three yard-line. After getting sacked on the next play, Lulay took the ball into the end zone to stake B.C. to a 29-7 advantage. Montreal closed the gap to 29-14 on its next series after Neiswander threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to London. But with the outcome not appearing in doubt, B.C. coach Mike Benevides decided to pull Lulay, who was shaken up when hit while scoring his touchdown. DeMarco reached his personal milestone as he found Iannuzzi for a 14-yard touchdown pass. Notes: Defensive lineman Chris Wilson played his first game for B.C. after signing as free agent last week. Its Wilsons second stint with the Lions. ... CFL commissioner Mark Cohon attended the game as part of a tour of CFL cities that he has been on lately. He said discussions on a new collective bargaining agreement with players will begin next spring. 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