I contemplated displaying an image of the MRI scan from Sean's brain tumor. But the starkness still haunts me. Its ugly, irregular shape was too much to bear. I found this lovely photo of flowers in the shape of a brain and opted for this because I think of all the beauty that was born from our pain. There are lovely and charming sides to Sean that amaze many. Having God by my side transformed my seeds doubt into faith-filled flowers.
The descriptors below describe Sean more accurately than all of the many diagnoses he was given over the years by various psychiatrists. The definition of Acquired Brain Injury is: damage to the brain occurring after birth, not related to a congenital or degenerative disease. It is the impairment of normal brain function due to a neurological insult, select cerebral vascular lesions, hypoxic event (lack of oxygen) or intracranial tumor.
Deficits fall into the four major groups listed below:
Cognitive Symptoms:
Difficulty in processing info (speed, accuracy and consistency)
Shortened attention span
Inability to understand abstract concepts
Impaired decision-making ability
Inability to shift mental tasks or follow multi-step directions
Memory loss or impairment
Language deficits
Perceptual Symptoms:
Change in vision, hearing and touch
Loss of sense of time and space, spatial disorientaion
Disorders of smell and taste
Altered sense of balance
Increased/decreased pain sensitivity
Physical Symptoms:
Persistent headache
Extreme mental and/or physical fatigue
Disorders of movement - gaiting, ataxia, spasticity and tremors
Seizure activity (traumatic epilepsy), Impaired small motor control
Photo-sensitivity
Sleep disorders
Paralysis
Slurred speech (poor muscle control) and/or poor breathing patterns
Behavioral/Emotional Symptoms:
Irritability and impatience
Reduced tolerance for stress
Lack of initiative, apathy
Dependence (failure to assume responsibility for one's actions)
Denial of disability
Lack of inhibition (aggression, cursing, inappropriate sexual behavior)
Inflexibility
Flattened or heightened emotional responses/reactions
This information changed my son's life for the better. Because he had been misdiagnosed for many years, this new revelation describing my son's disability was a God-send! For anyone who has suffered a brain injury, I hope the above list of symptoms lights your path to understanding.