My body is convulsing, limbs thrashing about. I am awake, yet I can’t control myself. A few hours earlier, I went to bed just fine, thinking about cars and spaceships. During the middle of a dream, I felt the trembling of someone shaking me. I woke up to find my mother staring at me, a look of worry and distress upon her face. I knew something had happened, yet I couldn’t figure out what. But all of this is not happening to me, it is happening to my younger brother.
“Please God just let me wake up. I’m too young to go through this. What will happen to my children; who will take care of them? My gut tells me I am doing the right thing, but Lord, please show me your hand is in this.” I hear myself repeating this prayer over and over again. Undergoing the actual brain surgery is not what scared me; the idea I might not wake up terrified me. I’ve heard, “What does not kill you makes you stronger.” I never really thought much about the concept of becoming stronger through hardships until I was faced with a chronic illness, now I live by the motto.
Evaluation of persons for surgery is generally recommended only after focal seizures persist despite the person having tried at least two appropriately chosen and well-tolerated medications, or if there is an identifiable brain lesion (a dysfunctional part of the brain) believed to cause the seizures. When someone is considered to be a good candidate for surgery experts generally agree that it should be performed as early as possible.
Brain science is hard to understand. Very hard. However, Dr. Norman Doidge describes the current understanding of brain plasticity by using relatable examples and comprehensible diction instead of arduous textbook style writing. In The Brain that Changes Itself, Doidge challenges the age-old belief that the brain's structure is concrete by providing countless experiments that prove the brain to be malleable.
A common theme that has been discussed regarding the adversities that immigrants experience when arriving to the America are the social and cultural clashes between immigrants and citizens. What I find interesting is the conflicts pertaining to the health care system. Based on previous lectures, immigrants tend to mistrust the American healthcare system due to difference in medical remedies and the language spoken. I know first hand that my mother would perfer to have a Ghanaian physician, as opposed to the general white American doctor. Anne Fadiman wrote a successful award-winning book called, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, which highlights how the cultural differences between the Hmong culture and American medicine jeopardized the health of a little girl named Lia Lee. The story brings into light the topic of Medical anthropology, which is the study of medical systems, healing practices, and views on health from different cultures.
Do you know who James Madison is? James Madison was a Founding Father of the United States. He was also the fourth President of the United States, which is a great honor. He did many great things for this country while he was President. James Madison is a very interesting person. This essay will explain James’ personal life, his politics, and even his religion.
Based on the evidence provided in the documents, I have formulated an interpretation on the prosecution and conviction of Bridget Bishop. Bishop was a scapegoat for the problems of the people of Salem and accusations of witchcraft was a vehicle for her prosecution. Bishop unfortunately fitted the stereotype of a witch and the beliefs and bias of people during the 16th century that contributed to her conviction consequence demise. The testimonies claimed, Bishop was the sole reason for their children becoming sick and dying, murder, attacks on people, hallucinations and claims of bewitchment. The problem with these testimonies is that they lacked substantial evidence. There are more plausible solutions such as a lack of medical knowledge, convulsive
Jimmie Bowman was seen in followup for CIDP, causing previous weakness and numbness of his distal lower extremities. He states that the strength of his distal lower extremities [____] continues improved and is staying normal. He has occasional mild feeling of numbness of his feet, but states this is staying down to what he can tolerate. He is not having pain of his feet. He is no longer on Imuran. He was on this previously for CIDP.
The first part of the book is a collection of neurological disorders that Sacks categories as losses, or deficits. He describes their difference from typical deficits, as they originated in the right-hemisphere of the brain rather than left-hemisphere and have not been studied as much. He tells the story of nine clients who have experienced a deficit due to lesion in the
Schizencephaly is the second most rare brain cortical malformation. It belongs to the group of malformations of the central nervous system. Schizencaphaly is a developmental disorder characterized by abnormal slits or clefs in the cerebral hemispheres of the brain. Individuals with clefts in both hemispheres or bilateral clefts are often developmentally delayed and have delayed speech and language skills. Individuals with smaller unilateral clefts, clefts in one hemisphere, may be weak on one side of the body and may have average or near average intelligence. There are many possible causes to Schizencephaly but one fact remains, a stroke was involved during the pregnancy.1 The stimulant that causes the stroke, ranges from folic acid deficiency, cytomegalovirus (CMV), and environmental issues.1 Many doctors feel a stroke happens before 20 weeks gestation and account most neural tube defects on folic acid deficiency.1 Most individuals with Schizencephaly
“In other words, as the corpus callosum was destroyed, generalized convulsive seizures became less frequent,” Van Wagenen wrote in the 1940 paper, noting that “as a rule, consciousness is not lost when the spread of the epileptic wave is not great or when it is limited to one cerebral cortex.”
Absence Seizures have been a medical concern for a long time, and were first described in medical literature back in 1705 by Poupart (Temkin, 1971). According to The World Health Organization (WHO) at least 40 forms of epilepsy have been identified, and they are characterized by an abrupt and transitory synchronization of neuron activities, whose causes are not always well known.
The American Dream. It is extravagant, and most individuals strive for this lifestyle. But what exactly is it? Well, a popular historian by the name of James Truslow Adams discussed what the actual definition is in his novel, The Epic of America. He states that this dream is the ideal life for any citizen to be given equal opportunity to become successful through hard work and great determination. But is that true? Can everyone achieve this dream? I strongly feel that the population with epilepsy struggle with achieving the American Dream. They must go through their daily life, without knowing if they are safe from the world or worst themself. I feel these individuals, struggle and face many different obstacles in their life that others do
Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) represent a universal human condition, and are recognized as a worldwide phenomenon [1], sharing many similarities on patients ' demographics, semiology, and coexisting neurological and psychiatric disorders, despite cultural and economic differences (2). This condition continues to generate interest among epileptologists and psychiatrists.
If you witness someone having a seizure, would you know what to do? A seizure or a convulsion can be terrifying, especially if you have never seen anyone having it before. It temporarily affects muscle control, speech, and awareness and may cause the whole body to shake violently. It may last for a few seconds to several minutes. Here are some tips on what to do during a seizure.