“I have this terrible headache and I’m seeing flashing
lights” with that I sat up and reached for my office phone as I spoke with my
wife on my cell and she began to slur her words. I had an assistant who had
vividly described what she experienced when she had a stroke; so I suspected
that’s what was happening to my wife. I quickly dialed 9 1 1 and started on a
journey to try and understand what happens when someone suffers a traumatic
brain injury.
It’s nearly impossible to pick up a newspaper or visit
a website and not be confronted by stories of professional athletes, military
personnel or average folks who are confronted by a traumatic injury involving
the brain. Yet based on even the most advanced science our hard knowledge of
the how the brain works is relatively uncharted territory. The impact of
disease, injury, and drugs remains unclear and how to treat these injuries and
chemical incursions into the cranium are still by in large guess work.
So it was with personal experience through my wife and
a curiosity to learn more about the brain that I gravitated towards Trauma and Memory: Brain and Body in a Search
for the Living: A Practical Guide for Understanding and Working with Traumatic
Memory by Peter A. Levine, PhD. While Levine doesn’t directly address the
impact of stroke on the brain, he did offer insight into the functioning of
memories and the role they can play in the treatment of trauma to the brain.
Certainly not something for the casual reader, Trauma and Memory, covers a wide range
of traumatic injuries and their impact on functional memory. It is perfect for
clinical professionals and those who want to garner a better, deeper
understanding of what they or a loved one may be going through in the wake of brain
injury or illness.
No comments:
Post a Comment