Oliver Sacks is Dieing

     Oliver Sacks has long been on my list of people I would dearly love to hang out with for an hour or two. He is a renown neurologist whose books gave me hope after my own diagnosis of traumatic brain injury incurred during a motor vehicle accident. Like me, Oliver Sacks has prosopagnosia, although I suspect that my case of face-blindness is more mild than his. Also like me [and Sir Terry Pratchett who died recently], Oliver Sacks is an atheist.

     Oliver Sacks has terminal cancer. My world was made a bit more beautiful by his presence in my library.

     I am grateful to Oliver Sacks for gently teasing out the mysteries of neurological conditions and for presenting his patients as human beings first.

     I love you Oliver Sacks.   


Oliver Sacks essay:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/opinion/oliver-sacks-on-learning-he-has-terminal-cancer.html


recent articles referencing Oliver Sacks:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/19/living/feat-oliver-sacks-cancer-essay/index.html

http://www.celebritydiagnosis.com/2015/02/oliver-sachs-terminal-cancer/

http://boingboing.net/2015/02/19/oliver-sacks-i-have-terminal.html

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/feb/20/oliver-sacks-reveals-terminal-cancer

http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2010/oct/17/profile-oliver-sacks-author-neurologist  an old article about face blindness or prosopagnosia



other info about prosopagnosia:

http://www.faceblind.org/

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/09/living-with-face-blindness/279898/

Brain News

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/health/3689603-duluth-man-chronicles-his-struggles-traumatic-brain-injury-caused-childhood

Brad Dearth was in a car accident at the age of seven. He was not expected to survive but he did. He had a difficult time for many years but then relocated to Duluth, Minnesota from Ohio. In Duluth, he received the support that he needed. He speaks to classes of nursing students about his experiences. Dearth has a self-published book due out on Monday.

Best wishes to Brad Dearth! Don't ever give up on yourself.


http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/spoto-community-rallies-behind-girl-who-suffered-traumatic-brain-injury/2219092

Tyra Janelle Brown, a high school senior in Spoto [Florida], suffered a traumatic brain injury during a freak accident on an expressway. She is currently being treated in Atlanta. Her mother is by her side.

Students in Tyra's school have rallied together to support Tyra in her struggles. They have been planning and participating in a multitude of fund-raisers.

A shout-out to the students and others who are helping Tyra and her family during this difficult time! Best wishes, Tyra! Remember that it takes courage to dream new dreams.


http://news.psu.edu/story/346485/2015/02/26/academics/ist-student-entreprenuer-pursues-passions-despite-brain-injury

Krista Krebs does not allow her brain injury to dictate how she lives her life. She was injured as a senior in high school She is currently a student at Penn State and determined to graduate in 2010. In spite of physical pain and complications from her t.b.i., she is thriving at school in her chosen field.

Best wishes, Tyra! Keep on keeping on.


http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2130313

Repeated clinical trials have demonstrated that progesterone has no effect on outcomes or reduced mortality when used to treat patients with traumatic brain injuries.

Although this sounds like discouraging news, we need solid medical research that demonstrates what doesn't work as well as what does work.

A shout-out to JAMA and other scientific peer-review journals!


sapphoq healing brain damage says: Life does not have to grind to a halt after a traumatic brain injury. Regardless of any personal difficulties or degree of disability, it is possible to have a productive and meaningful life.

I have self-published two e-books. They are currently only available at Barnes & Noble. You can check them out here:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/SpikedUp-Frog?store=allproducts&keyword=SpikedUp+Frog

The books-- one pretty cool novel and one about being in x.a. recovery as an atheist-- are e-pubs without any D.M.C.A. crap applied. Those who buy them are free to use python scripts or other conversion tools [like Calibre or Epubor Ultimate] in order to be able to read them across their devices. The books are published under a creative commons license.

I have also learned to take halfway decent photos with my cheap digital camera and a cheap cellphone. I enjoy altering them as I see fit. Here is one of them:

It's mine. I made it myself. I took the photo with my cellphone on a snowy day in the woods and then added the words using my legally obtained copy of PaintShopPro 10. Go away copyright trolls. You are not welcome here ever. Period.
The rest of you are free to download and save it to your computer and to upload it to any social media site on the web of your choosing. Or not.

Follow me on Twitter(tm) if you want to. 
https://twitter.com/SpikedUpFrog

Brain News

Take it, use it, but don't hot-link it. Credit and link back not necessary.

From Science Daily:
 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150218101839.htm

From Science Daily: It turns out that Broca's area is more of speech and language synthesizer rather than a producer. When we speak out loud, the Broca's area shuts down. Results are from a very small sample-- seven patients with epilepsy-- and so I suspect that the study will have to be replicated on a larger scale. Still, this is intriguing to me.



Also from Science Daily:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150217114430.htm

There are two pathways for visual information [not just one as previously thought]. New techniques involving M.R.I. have revealed evidence that-- especially in children-- when the primary pathway is damaged, a secondary pathway can re-route around the primary.
My special [t.b.i.] eye doc told me that "the eyeballs are the outcropping of the brain." Visual acuity is indeed separate from ocular-motor function or dysfunction.



From The Hindu:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/brain-dead-woman-saves-three-lives/article6906825.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication

The organs from a brain-dead woman were harvested and saved three lives.



From Chronicle Live U.K.:
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/brain-damaged-county-durham-woman-8667602

An English woman who sustained severely debilitating brain damage early on in life was awarded a huge amount of money. The money will enable her aged parents to move to a larger home [they are her primary caretakers] so that the woman can remain in the community rather than suffer institutionalization and will also ensure her well-being after their deaths.



From National Geographic [on-line]:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/02/150217-shell-shock-ptsd-tbi-world-war-one-ied-veterans-administration-science/


A short interview involving blast-induced traumatic brain injuries being sustained by our service people. And a cool mask.



From Yahoo News:
https://news.yahoo.com/eye-tracking-tech-could-detect-concussions-football-players-150621714.html;_ylt=AwrBEiQZDeVUiDIAQVrQtDMD

I could have told the researchers this [if they had known to ask]. I have ocular-motor dysfunction caused by my t.b.i. Yeah, I do rather horribly on eye tracking tests. My eyeballs don't play nicely with my brain or with each other.



From North Jersey [dot com]:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/health-news/cyclist-sets-sites-on-bi-coastal-ride-1.1272211

A man who sustained serious head trauma approximately five years ago plans to bike across the country to raise awareness of traumatic brain injury. This is a wonderful thing! You go, Daniel Mollino!



From W.B.T.V.:
http://www.wbtv.com/story/28131593/stepfathers-abuse-conviction-sentence-upheld-by-nc-court

R.I.P. little four year old Kalih Davenport. Her step-father rammed her head into a wall, leaving her with brain damage. She has since died. 



From York Press in the U.K.:
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/11799709.York_man_was_savagely_attacked_with_golf_club__rock_and_drill_then_left_for_dead_with_dozens_of_wounds__court_is_told/?ref=rss


A young woman claims during trial that after two men beat on a fellow, she went upstairs and was on Facebook. She didn't realize until later that he was bloodied up in her cupboard.
Hearty wishes go out to Adam Blythe who sustained brain damage and other injuries from the attack.


From I09:
http://io9.com/gourmand-syndrome-is-the-most-delicious-kind-of-brain-1686326418

A curious article about changing food tastes after brain damage brought on via stroke or t.b.i.


sapphoq healing traumatic brain injury