Continued from Part 2. After we had been transferred to the large university hospital, the doctors decided to delve more deeply into the specifics of my nephew’s brain malformation. The MRIs had told us some things, but not everything, so they scheduled him for a Positron Emission Tomograph, commonly known as a PET-scan. A PET-scan uses radioactivity coupled with a biologically-active molecule and after injection, the biological molecule congregates in the area of interest, in our case, my nephew’s brain. The radioactivity attached to the biological molecule then starts letting its extra neutrons go in a process called decay. This decay, through a very complicated process, is read by the PET scanner and brain activity can be assessed. What this very comprehensive scan told the doctors and subsequently us was that the right side of my nephew’s brain couldn’t send electrical signals properly and this aberrant electrical activity was causing the seizures. Unfortunately, the only way to stop the activity was to take out whatever in the right hemisphere was giving the wonky signals, so my nephew, at the age of four months, was scheduled for brain surgery. Read more →

Continued from Part 1. After we had arrived at the new hospital and my nephew had been placed into the Pediatric ICU (PICU), the doctors started running more tests, and in conjunction with what the ER doctor had found out, my nephew was diagnosed with a seizure disorder or, as it is more commonly known, epilepsy. Epilepsy is defined as a “brain disorder characterized predominantly by recurrent and unpredictable interruptions of normal brain function” and in most cases, this interruption is caused by either an over-excitation or under-excitation of the neurons in the brain. After electroencephalography (EEG) was performed and analyzed, this aberrant electrical brain activity was what appeared to be happening to my nephew, so the doctors began to prescribe medications that are typically given to children with seizure disorders. The problem with my nephew, however, was that from the MRI that had been performed on him at this point, it was evident that there was significant brain malformation in his right hemisphere, and these medications would only be treating the symptoms and not the cause. Read more →

As a person who believes in full disclosure, I feel that I should say from the outset that I am not a neurologist. I am a microbiologist, and generally speaking, even though I am a science-type of person, I was never very interested in neurology. All that changed, however, when my nephew was born. Well, it didn’t happen exactly the moment he was born; it took a while for us to learn how unique he really was. I guess it is probably best if I start at the beginning. Read more →

A lady (let’s call her Carla) is driving down a street — it’s 10:00 pm on a Friday night. She thinks about her kids in bed, makes a mental note to check in on them before she goes to bed. She wonders what her boss has in store for her at the 8:00 a.m. meeting that was scheduled a week ago. Suddenly there is a blinding flash of light; a deafening crash, and her world goes black. Sound like a scene from a movie? I wish it were. According to the CDC, 1.4 million people in the USA sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) annually; 20% of these are caused by motor vehicle accidents (MVA). Fifty thousand of these traumatic brain injuries result in death each year. Carla might never be able to communicate with her children meaningfully. She certainly will not be able to get back to her work any time soon (if ever). Her social network will be disrupted; her schedule will be a series of medical appointments and consultations. Read more →

I am 48 years old and one of eight children, and born and raised in Baltimore, MD. I have been divorced once and have four children from three marriages. My story is kind of difficult to explain, but I think worth the time. My first marriage was to a woman who had a five-year-old daughter who I adopted. We had two boys during that time and were divorced in 1989. In 1992, I met my current wife Suzanne who was widowed at 29. She was pregnant at the time of her husband’s death and we now have our youngest son who is 15. We have a great family, and frankly, the highlight of my crazy life. Read more →

I don’t believe there is any road of human experience wrought with more winding, blind-curve, uphill challenge, where chronic illness is concerned, than in traveling the path forced by that of mental health issues relating to a close family member. Perhaps debatable, but certainly not by me — it’s the hardest road. There. I said it.

I am the mother of 24 year old son. A son, who was diagnosed at age 14 with major depressive disorder. And, to add to the ragged, mysterious 10 year tour; the looming, possible diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Read more →