The deep scar carved into the right side of 10-year-old Edison Mangel’s head serves as a poignant reminder of the severe bicycle injury that could have taken his life, an injury that was also likely preventable.
“The only thing I remember is me hitting my head and I don’t know anything about what happened next,” said Edison, a Plantation Key School fifth grader.
It was June 8, around 7 in the evening. Edison was out on his bike, riding on Azalea Street near his home in Plantation Key Colony, when a rope on the street became entangled in his spokes. The bike screeched to a halt, Edison was thrown from the bike and onto the asphalt, hitting his head. He wasn’t wearing a helmet.
“Just out and about, coming home on his bike, normal day, normal kid, normal scenario, something got caught in his bike and he fell off of it and slammed his head on the road,” said mom Karina Mangel, who is a nurse at Mariners Hospital.
A neighbor saw the accident and heard Edison’s head hit the road. She called Karina Mangel, who rushed to her son from her job at the hospital. Edison was still conscious, but knew something wasn’t right.
“It was painful,” recalled Edison.
During the panic and chaos, Edison’s father, Richard Mangel, reached out to their family doctor for advice.
“And she’s the one who said, ‘Get him there and get a scan done right away,’” recalled Richard.
A scan at Mariners Hospital revealed a brain bleed, a critical injury to Edison’s head.
“He ended up having a subdural hematoma, which is an arterial bleed,” explained Karina.
Edison soon lost consciousness. He was loaded onto a Trauma Star helicopter and flown to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami where he underwent a four-hour surgery.
“They had to remove the skin on top of his head and the skull and get into the area to stop the bleed,” said Karina.
“The head of neurosurgery, Dr. Niazi, saved his life,” added Richard.
Edison spent the next five days in the hospital. He left the hospital with one long stitch starting at the front of his head and ending at his right ear. He was then forced to spend the next three months, the entire summer, inside his home, recovering. A time Edison refers to as “torture.”
Edison has now been cleared to do all of the things he likes to do; he can ride his bike, he can hang out with his friends and play baseball – just no contact sports, probably ever.
“That was really scary for all of us,” said Karina Mangel. “All of this could have been prevented if he would have been wearing a helmet. It was right in an area that a helmet would have protected his head.”
Florida law requires anyone on a bicycle under the age of 16 to wear a helmet. But in reality, when it comes to wearing helmets, sometimes kids and parents let it slide.
“They made helmets for a reason,” said Karina. “As parents, it’s our responsibility to protect our kids.”
Now Edison and his family want to turn his frightening experience into something positive.
“Edison wanted to take his scary story or nightmare of a story and make a difference in our community and teach families and teach kids the importance of wearing a bicycle helmet,” said Karina.
Edison plans to share his story with classmates and students from other schools in the county. Edison is not only focusing on the importance of wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle, but also while riding a onewheel. Down the road, he hopes to take his message to an even larger audience.
“He wants to go to schools not only within Monroe County, but also outside of Monroe County and start talking about what happened,” added Richard, a former Monroe County teacher who now owns Keys To Embroidery in Key Largo.
Edison and his family have also teamed up with a local nonprofit to raise money to donate bicycle helmets to schools.
Edison is the middle child in a family with five children. He has two older sisters and two younger brothers. The entire Mangel family knows just how lucky they are to have Edison here and to be able to share his story.
“They said he was a miracle, and you are a miracle, buddy, you are,” said Karina to her son Edison.
Edison offered a last bit of advice to anyone reading this story.
“Wear your helmet.”
To contribute to the fund to provide bicycle helmets to schools, visit keyshealthystart.org. Scroll down and click the ” donate now” button. Continue scrolling until you come upon the “select credit/debit/bank account” button. Fill out the information and be sure to choose the arrow down option “apply my gift to” and choose Helmet Safety.
