Why Natasha Richardson's Death Matters To Me

This week, it seems everyone is thinking and talking about Natasha Richardson's tragic death. Personally, I check People's website at least five times a day to read celebrity news, and when I first read about her skiing accident, I was so sad to hear that she was hurt. Hours later, though, I read that she was walking and talking after her fall, so I figured they had just gotten poor news about the seriousness of her injuries in the first report. Two days later, I was shocked, though, to read that they were giving her zero chance of recovery.

Doctors call it the "talk and die" syndrome, because after some head injuries, you can seem totally fine and normal at first, talking and walking around. But somewhere deep inside your brain, there is a little bit of bleeding that slowly builds up and puts pressure on your brain. After a short amount of time you go from seeming normal to literally being brain dead forever. It's heartbreaking to even think about it.

In some ways, I wonder why I even care so much that she has died. Sure, I recognize her from films and tv, and everyone knows her mom and her husband. But I didn't actually know her in person. Why does her life and death impact me at all? I think I care simply because it's the story of a woman with so much talent and beauty dying so quickly when she has two young boys who are close to entering their teens and a very rough and confusing time in their lives. It's an actual Hollywood couple who has been together for more than ten years, which seems to show that they really genuinely loved each other, and any husband losing his wife that he loved breaks my heart, celebrity or not.

I think it also affects me because of how quickly she was gone. It proves to us all that even if you are the daughter of famous people and married to a very wealthy and famous man, and even if you have a Tony award sitting in your house and gobs and gobs of money in your bank account, death can still find you in an instant. Even if you are beautiful and your life looks perfect from the outside, you can still be taken away from this Earth at a very young age. It is scary to say the least. We tend to think of celebrities as being immune to such tragedy, but times like this we realize that they are just people like us....

My heart goes out to Liam Neeson and his two young boys. I can't even imagine what pain they are feeling right now. No amount of money or fame can comfort you when you lose someone you love. And one things seems clear about the beautiful and talented Natasha Richardson. She was greatly loved.