Beyond the bullet

[nadinbrzezinski]

The spectral images, reproduced in neurosurgery journals and textbooks, could be captioned "Beauty and the Beast."

Captured by X-ray and CT scan, the human brain is pierced by a bullet, nail, pool cue or chunk of razor-sharp debris. The intruding object has ripped a jagged vortex of destruction through the brain's gelatinous lobes and forged an even wider path of quivering shock. If the projectile came in hard and fast, shards of broken skull will be scattered through the delicate tissue. The bullet might have ricocheted off bone and tumbled wildly in the cavity, bursting blood vessels and carving uneven holes where, only moments before, healthy brain cells had hummed.

Such havoc, you would think, would put an abrupt end to the brain's rhythmic buzz of activity and extinguish the life defined by its complex inner work-ings. But — as the awakening of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has demonstrated these last weeks — the human brain can be resilient, capable of withstanding brutish damage and then masterminding its reconstruction.

"I have seen every foreign body in the world pass through the brain, and I never cease to be amazed that some seem to survive and do amazingly well," said Dr. Ian Armstrong, a Century City neurosurgeon, shortly after Giffords was shot.

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-bullet-head-wound-20110124,0,3810259.story

Those of us with medical knowledge and training know this... so sharing. This is a pretty good article.

[northoftheborder]

1. Has anyone heard of Giffords condition today?

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. As of yesterday they said they were having

a few issues with liquid in the brain. Nothing today, and I expect them to stop doing the regular daily updates and just tell us of major milestones, like most likely remove the Intracranial pressure monitor (I am betting on that), and moving her to the rehab center.

Things will slow down in speed, even if day to day things are amazing... just not as fast. (and in her case she has amazed me, and how far she recovered this early is really good news)

[2Design]

3. yes it is a real unknown how she will fare in the long recovery road

how close to normal will it be - how much recovery

Having seen people with Traumatic brain injuries - it is tough to watch and not know if they will get back to normal even a month or two later.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. When my nephew crashed at oh 19

and flew out the car... I remember telling that to my mom... he is gone. We are in for a surprise as to what replaces him. It was a hard thing to say. There were a few other problems that thankfully she does not have, that made his recovery much harder as well. I will leave it at that.