Looks to me as if there wasn't much left to recover.
Posted on 07/03/2006 4:51:05 PM PDT by Alouette
Doctors have proof on how man who was barely conscious for decades woke
Doctors have their first proof that a man who was barely conscious for nearly 20 years regained speech and movement because his brain spontaneously rewired itself by growing tiny new nerve connections to replace the ones sheared apart in a car crash.
Terry Wallis, 42, is thought to be the only person in the United States to recover so dramatically so long after a severe brain injury. He still needs help eating and cannot walk, but his speech continues to improve and he can count to 25 without interruption.
Wallis’ sudden recovery happened three years ago, but doctors said the same cannot be hoped for people in a persistent vegetative state, such as Terry Schiavo, the Florida woman who died last year after a fierce right-to-die court battle. Nor do they know how to make others with less serious damage, like Wallis, recover.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
pro-life ping
He stopped voting democrat?
Ping.
There was nothing left of her brain to rewire. This is a disingenuous comparison.
But this is great news and hope for people who want to hang in there.
Amazing! Wonder if his diet has alot of fish oils.
Amazing! Wonder if his diet has alot of fish oils.
Careful, my FRiend. There are adamant FReepers around who believe the Schiavo was living a happy life.
THey don't know how he recovered but are sure that Teri couldn't do the same? A year ago they were probably saying the same about this guy.
Interesting that, unprompted, they cover their tracks like this.
And now he's a psychic who can see the future by touching.
Looks to me as if there wasn't much left to recover.
So, I guess it's right that the state enforced a starvation order on her, since she probably wasn't happy, right?
Got a picture of this guys brain?
again, I guess them's good grounds fer a killin'!
That was the right comeback.
How come the sinuses show in the second scan but not the first? Could be comparing apples and oranges?
Yes, but is it through his "Dead Zone?"
>>How come the sinuses show in the second scan but not the first?
My Sinus does not extend into my brain, I hope :-)
And, BTW, the answer is yes. Go to the link and watch the video. His brain is clearly far less damaged than Schiavo's was, at least so far as the above CAT scan indicates..
I'm glad you are "normal" too.
Well, there certainly wasn't after they murdered her.
Would you post all three?
The problem with this statement is that PVS is a subjective diagnosis, there are no tests for it. That means PVS is whatever the examining Dr thinks it is. PVS diagnosed patients range from comatose to people able to interact at different levels. The fact that we are using a subjective diagnosis to decide literal life and death matters is what always bothered me the worst about the Terri issues. I read quite a bit about what PVS is and isn't and the truth is there is no way to know for sure.
Are you a doctor or do you just play one in the movies?
No, I can't. As I stated above, the imagery of his brain is in the streaming video.
Bingo.
Nope, I'm not a doctor, and fortunately I don't have to be one to completely ignore you. LOL
PS. Actually, that above scan indicates a tumor, so it's not a "normal" brain, but it's still in far better shape than Schiavo's was! (and it shows sinuses of course..)
Let me get this straight, you are not a doctor, you only play one on freerepublic dot com?
But - hell of a thing
Never underestimate the healing power of GOD. My Nephew was diagnosed with pvs when he had his car wreck 3 almost 4 yrs ago. The so called doctors wanted to keep him on seizure meds and sedated at the highest doses. My Sister stopped all meds except vitamins.. He is now awake, brushing his own teeth, combing his own hair, laughing and in intense rehab physically and mentally with Bio Feedback therapy. Never Say Never. God has his hands on all of us. On his own timetable and by his own mercy and graces. Never put all your trust in doctors, They do not have all the answers, Trust in God. Terrie died by court starvation, Murdered by the hands of injustice.
I saw a special on this man on Discovery Health about a year and a half ago. The mother was an inspiration. She kept him home and included him in all the family get togethers. She made sure to speak to him and to keep him stimulated. Not sure if this is still the case but his short term memory was fried. He thought his daughter was his ex wife and it was very frustrating to her because he would make some inappropriate comments. Still when people would ask him who the president was he always said Reagan.
Well, if you can't I think you ought to pull your post. It is misleading and biased IMO.
Why?
Umm, no. My post was certainly not misleading in the slightest. You may very well lack the ability to comprehend it, but that is not my post's problem.
...gotta read the responses...for entertainment purposes only..
I have a (step) grandson who is severely brain damaged from deprivation of oxygen at age 2. His brain scans are completely normal in appearance, though they have not always been. His scans started out showing serious damage, he was comatose and near comatose for about 2 years, and scans have now improved in appearance over the years until now they appear normal. His ability to function has only slightly improved over the years (he is a teen and functions at about age 4 months) and does not seem to be related to the appearance of the scans. His neurologist says it is very difficult to relate function to brain scans in any meaningful way. His Dr has patients with scans that show a lot of abnormality yet the person is highly functional, even up to normal levels. He also has patients like my grandson who have normal scans, yet are severely disabled.
The brain remains a great mystery, even with all the technology we have today.
Think about this a second ok? If a leftist newspaper only posted 2/3 of a story that supported their belief but left out data that might open debate , would you think that was right? Your post is misleading and you know it. Post all three brains together, in color and size.
Yes, I have thought about it. It's because on some topics, Terri Schiavo being one of them, many people lose all sense of logic and reason. It really irks me to see otherwise smart, capable people talking nonsense.
That's why I avoided 98% of the Schiavo threads back in the day. I'm not even here to discuss Schiavo, really. I clicked on the thread because I was actually interested in the medical advances (and to see if it fit my ping list, to be exact).
Just in case the thought entered your mind that those involved in Terry Schiavo’s case might have been wrong, this AP writer is here to make you feel comfortable with being indifferent. Notice the use of terms such as “right-to-die court battle.” Remember when Terri was screaming that she had the right to die? Me neither. I found this article to be extremely interesting, because as I was reading, the thought did occur to me that Terri’s case was probably similar at which point the author interjected into the story affirming that I was foolish to think such a way.
“Doctors have their first proof that a man who was barely conscious for nearly 20 years regained speech and movement because his brain spontaneously rewired itself by growing tiny new nerve connections to replace the ones sheared apart in a car crash.”
Me: So…maybe they shouldn’t have killed Terri because there was a chance that her condition might have improved, and those who loved her might be able to communicate with her again? Oh wait, I didn’t finish reading.
“Wallis’ sudden recovery happened three years ago, but doctors said the same cannot be hoped for people in a persistent vegetative state, such as Terry Schiavo, the Florida woman who died last year after a fierce right-to-die court battle. Nor do they know how to make others with less serious damage, like Wallis, recover.”
Me: Ok, so since Terri was in a minimally conscious state, where she was awake, but uncommunicative, there was no hope anyway, and she wanted to die anyway right? Or it wouldn’t have been a “right-to-die” case…right?
“Wallis was 19 when he suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him briefly in a coma and then in a minimally conscious state, in which he was awake but uncommunicative other than occasional nods and grunts, for more than 19 years.”
Me: Wait…how was this case different?
They seem to be "protesting too much"...
As I understand it, brain scans are done by slices- so even if you had several side by side, would it mean much if they were from vastly different slices? I have no medical knowledge- but that is what I understand from my DIL who has a son that is severely brain damaged.
He probably just stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night...
Both the article and the attendant video make it clear that the severity of the brain injuries differed. The attendant video includes imagery of this man's brain that also makes it quite clear that the severity of the injuries differed from those of Terri Schiavo at the time of the above CAT scan..
Now, if you really want my opinion, the angle you should be taking on all this is: This man's family cared for him and stimulated his brain - for instance, taking him on outings - throughout the period since his accident, whereas by many accounts Michael Schiavo neglected Terri or even withdrew care and stimulation. That's the angle you should be hitting IMHO if you want to argue that with proper treatment she may have recovered.
Yeah. Teri was brought up in the article though. There are extremes on both sides of every issue. All things are possible with the Lord as this man shows. I can't not talk about Teri though. God took her home but she had a purpose. It may be that it is to shine the light on America's conscience, regarding the disabled. I hope so anyway. Anyhow, as you say this is a remarkable recovery and I'm interested in the medical aspect of it too.
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