Posted on 07/03/2006 4:51:05 PM PDT by Alouette
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.
My opinion, and I will leave this discussion on this point, is that even if Terri Schiavo may have recovered with proper care from the beginning and throughout, her brain was irreparably atrophied by the time the above scan was taken in 2002.
Hey, we found something we agree on. I was talking to a man awhile back. He shook my hand and showed me a ball. He had a stroke and said that his arm had been flacid. He said he constantly squeezed the ball using his other had to open and close but he recovered. You must stimulate the brain or it will die.
As for the cat scan, I don't care. We know Teri had damage. Severe damage. This guy probably does too. I just felt you should post and let people decide for themselves. It's your call though.
HOw bout this. Look at post 12. I'm no radiologist but the X-Ray of "Terri's" skull looks awfully thick. Is it just me?
Genetics?
The picture on the left may be a normal brain scan, but the picture on the right is a postmortem. Being mistreated for a decade and then deliberately dehydrated to death can cause extensive brain damage. There certainly may not have been "much to recover" after her death, but the state of her mental capacity prior to her murder can no longer be determined.
Well, you know we all descended from apes. And I really don't want to get in the middle of this. Just an observation. Is it wrong?
The one on the right is identified as being from 2002, but I can't totally vouch for that. Although it wasn't authoritative, that's what the link said.
Yes, I did notice that. I figure that the area that looks solid around her brain includes the cerebral fluid between the brain and the cranium, but I don't know for sure. Any fluid-filled cavities should appear dark though, so far as I know, and I can't guess why it wouldn't be in that CT scan. I am not a doctor anyhow so I'm not really qualified to speculate. Sorry.
"Careful, my FRiend. There are adamant FReepers around who believe the Schiavo was living a happy life."
Boy how STUPID of us Freepers that supported Terri.
After an accident with an unresolved cause her husband gets her treatment, sues due to claims of malpractice, win a large sum calculated by her husbands claim to take care of her for the rest of her life, after settlement reneges, says she wanted to die under such circumstances, gets pro-death attorney, pro-death judge and she is starved to death by the withholding of food and water and a couple days before she dies, after countless stories of how painless such a complete starvation really is (by the same people that claim a death row inmate that feels pains for a few monents constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment"), the husband's attorney states that "Terri never looked so beautiful.
Please. You goal was achieved - Terri's dead, Michael's alive and you obviously don't give a damn. No one said she was necessarily happy but she showed clear signs of recognition in those videos from a room she was not allowed to leave or have the curtains open. She was worthy of life before the dollars rolled in and then betrayed by her husband and a multitude of others. If their was a living will this would have all been a different story but since there wasn't siding towards life, especially under the murky circumstances, was the right avenue.
PS: Got your living will yet?
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