cablepokerface writes
"We've had a significant family catastrophe last weekend. My sister-in-law (my wife's sister) is 28 years old and was 30 weeks pregnant till last Saturday. She also had a tumor — it was a benign, slow growing tumor close to her brain-stem. Naturally we were very worried about that condition, but several neurologists assessed the situation earlier and found the tumor to be a problem, but not big enough for her to require immediate surgery, so we decided to give the baby more time. She was symptomatic, but it was primarily pain in her neck area and that was controlled with acceptable levels of morphine.
Then, last Saturday, our lives changed. Probably forever. In the hospital, where she was admitted earlier that week to keep an eye on the baby, the tumor ruptured a small vessel and started leaking blood into the tumor, which swelled up to twice its size. Then she, effectively, had a stroke from the excess blood in the brain stem. In a hurry, the baby was born through C-section (30 weeks and it's a boy — he's doing fine). Saturday night she had complex brain surgery, which lasted nine hours. They removed the blood and tumor that was pressing on the brain.
Last Sunday/Monday they slowly tried to wake her up. The CT scan shows all higher brain functions to work, but a small part of the brain stem shows no activity. She is locked-in, which is a terrible thing to witness since she has virtually no control of any part of her body. She can't breathe on her own, and the only things she can move, ever so slightly, are her lips, eyelids and eyes. And even that's not very steady. Blinking her eyes to answer questions tires her out enormously, as she seems to have to work hard to control those. The crowd on Slashdot is a group of people who have in-depth knowledge of a wide range of topics. I'm certainly not asking for pity here, but maybe you can help me with the following questions: Does anyone have any ideas on how to communicate better with her? Is there technology that could help? Like brain-wave readers or something? Does anyone have any ideas I haven't thought of regarding communication with her, or maybe even experience with it?"
Re:As painful as it is...
By Rich0
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2014-May-23 13:21
• Score: 5, Insightful
• Thread
If she has higher brain function, and from the summary it seems she has full higher brain function, pulling the plug without asking her would be murder.
So ask. Hook her up with one of those Stephen Hawking eye-tracker things, and ask her what she wants.
Frankly, I would not do that until she has learned to cope with her condition. I have a close relative who went through a debilitating stroke and honestly I was about ready to drag her in to a psych ward I was so concerned about suicide risk. Today she gets incredibly frustrated with things, but for the most part is living happily and reasonably productively for somebody who is disabled. She needs a lot of help, but I think that a decision to commit suicide would have been a rash one.
It is simply unwise to make any life decision just after going through a traumatic event. If in a year nothing has changed somebody in this condition would be in a much better place to make a thoughtful evaluation. Maybe less time is required. However, it is foolish to contemplate something like assisted suicide a short time after something like this.
Re:As painful as it is...
By Rich0
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2014-May-23 13:26
• Score: 4, Insightful
• Thread
Couldn't agree more.
I have a close relative with who suffered a stroke which caused aphasia. She went from only knowing maybe a few dozen words to posting on Facebook in less than a few years. While many things frustrate her to no end (those cute memes you post on social networking would benefit from screen-reader-compatible text in the post), the fact is that she is fairly functional now and able to enjoy many things in life.
Oh, another little public service message to anybody who works in a government licensing examination capacity: somebody with anomic aphasia might be perfectly capable of understanding the driving laws but be unable to complete a multiple choice exam, even if the question and answers are read aloud without modification. There really should be an accommodation where somebody is allowed to be interviewed as long as they can demonstrate the necessary proficiency - somebody with anomic aphasia can often explain things in their own words rather well.
Re:Yes, there are methods available
By sconeu
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2014-May-23 13:35
• Score: 5, Informative
• Thread
In case OP is interested in this machine:
It's an all-in-one form factor, and in my wife's case, they provided mounting hardware for her powerchair. They also provided a rolling rack and mounting hardware for when she was in bed.
We had the 17 inch screen version, on the theory that bigger was easier to focus on. It also accepts standard USB keyboard and mouse, for configuration purposes, or if the patient has some use of hands. We also had a "big red button" connected by USB that could be used for click, if possible.
By default, it comes with only the Tobii software communications software enabled. You can purchase (relatively cheaply... $50 or less) unlock for full access to the underlying Windows system, and also the WiFi. It also came with a SIM slot, but the unlock for that was a bit more expensive.
Just as a side note, I was the guy who asked about text/voice only plans a year and a half ago, or so. It was for this computer.
Re:Stem cell therapy
By umafuckit
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2014-May-23 14:21
• Score: 4, Informative
• Thread
This isn't my field, but I'll give an answer a shot. The more peripheral nervous system has a reputation for being better able to re-grow following damage than the more central nervous system. This fact has become contentious, though, and stem cells have more recently been found in the central brain (e.g. the hippocampus). The sensory neurons from the olfactory bulb re-grow constantly. The macular degeneration trials are encouraging. There is a good lay review
here. I don't know to what degree central vision is restored or how well the original circuitry is repaired. The retina, whilst complex, has relatively simple organisation. With the exception of the optic nerve cells that go to the central brain, the connections are fairly short. These facts may contribute to it being a good target for this sort of therapy. If you have an injured spine then you will have damaged cells whose axons could be two feet long. These are the neurons that send motor information down from the brain and sensory information back up. The distance itself may be a big re-wiring challenge. Injecting stem cells into the central brain is currently bleeding edge pure research.
Video story on CNN
By Mr.Intel
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2014-May-23 15:03
• Score: 3
• Thread
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/... Sounds like there is some hope for recovery. Good luck, man! Love that baby!