Brain Trauma blog

Discharge from hospital tentitively scheduled for July 1 2022 There is no reason why the patient could not be discharged today. The patient no longer needs to wear the collar when sitting and standing. The neck is declared to be basically healed. There have been no alarming symptoms following the cranioplasty (insertion of the titanium plate) 8 days ago. The risk was that bacteria might be introduced during the surgery (this is a not very rare and very serious complication). The word was observation for one week is needed (I am confident that 1 full week is allowing a massive margin of security and ceased to worry after 4 days). The patient is weak from being bed ridden and eager to get out of the hospital. Verbal skills have returned to at least far above average. Interpersonal skills are at a level which the author of this blog can't even imagine (low bar). Reasoning fine. Long term memory extraordinary -- to pass time, patient sings the repertoire of Fabrizio d'Andre from m

confirmation. neurosurgeon just said all went well.

the Titanium plate has been inserted. Patient awake and said high. Head normally shaped (under bandages). They are doing a CT scan (TAC).

Ttanium plate scheduled to go in patient's head Monday JUNE 20 (unless there is a more urgent case)

Very late update (sorry). Patient had successful surgerty to stabilize the neck. There had been hope that the broken C5 vertebra would just heal, but now it is fixed also using a bit of bone from the right hip. recovery from surgery fine (limp over). Brain issues seem almost resolved. Verbal problem of confidently using the wrong word (eg "ice" for "water") almost over, especially when rested. Behavioral problem of renewed immaturity definitely over. Patient has become a patient and prudent adult again (this time growing up took weeks not decades -- it was surreal). The titanium plate has still not been inserted (last delay because of a fever due to a urinary tract infection cured with 3 days of IV antibiotic). Patient Verrry bored with hospital. ALso afraid of the operation (as is normal). Decision on whether to insert it next week is imminent (there will be a third MRI and if it looks like the second or better, the plate goes in).

May 31 update I see I have not been updating (sorry). Quite a lot to report (of course) I'd say that the main news is extremely rapid recovery. There were 3 areas of trouble with brain functioning. 1) fixing short term memory -- patient remembered for 15 minutes then forgot. This is completely resolved. Patient's memory has surpassed normal and is most of the way back to patients pre-accident memory (which was not at all normal but rather very extraordinary) 2) language. Patient replaced words which didn't come to mind with random words (often beginning with the same sound). There is still a bit of this. Now comes off as the way people speak when tired or absent minded. Notably patient is communicating with text on an iPhone and the cervello trauma aspects are about on the order of iPhone autocorrect aspects (so typed text much stranger than spoken language). 3) emotion-judgment-behavior. As could be predicted from CAT and MRI bilateral bruising of the frontal lo