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Quality of life with half a brain?

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Wildkow, Apr 8, 2008.

  1. Wildkow

    Wildkow New Member

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    Can you have any quality of life with half a brain? I'm sorry I have never heard of such a thing. Is this a group of Doctors with an opportunity to try out their skills and should it be done? Personally I think if there is nothing else they can do they need to let this little girl live out her life as it is and then let her go. I could be wrong but with only half a brain what kind of a life does she have to look forward too?

    Wildkow
     
  2. Neicy

    Neicy Member

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    I have heard that some children do remarkably well. Better than you would ever think possible. The younger they are the better they fair. The opposite side will take over some of the functions of the missing side. Uncontrolled seizures are a horrible thing to have to live with; totally life altering in itself.
     
  3. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    people have hemispheric strokes all the time and go on to lead productive, if not normal, lives.
     
  4. Wildkow

    Wildkow New Member

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    I had no idea that life, let alone meaningful life was even possible with half your brain removed. That is just stunning to me.

    The half-brained humor is entirely inappropriate here. I'd like the Mod to remove them please. :mad:

    Wildkow
     
  5. markderail

    markderail I do 45 mins @ 3200 PSI

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    Wildkow, I thought you were posting that you had had a vasectomy :eek:
     
  6. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    Yep. The brain is an amazing organ. Even though some folks like to claim that the right half is for this and the left half is for that, it's all interconnected, and, within certain limits, one part can take over for another. I'm sure it's better to have the whole thing, just as it's better to have both arms and both legs. But you can live a satisfying life with half a brain, just as you can with one leg or one arm. You just have to re-learn a lot of stuff.
     
  7. SparrowHawk60

    SparrowHawk60 Happy to be green!

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    :hurt:
    "Anything unrelated to the Prius. Come chat. First Amendment is your friend in here." :confused:
     
  8. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    It's not so much the content being deleted as that it was thread crapping and that kind of political BS needs to be in the political forum.
     
  9. Wildkow

    Wildkow New Member

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    I don't recall what your comment was offhand and I don’t think it was all that inappropriate if I remember correctly but the topic of this thread concerns a little girl that is about to have half of her brain removed. This must be frightening news to her and devastating news to her family and loved ones. To me it was shocking that they would even try something so drastic! At first I thought the Doctors were just trying out their skills, padding their billing or playing God. It turns out that I was wrong and hopefully in the hands of a skilled surgeon and medical team she has a chance of living a fulfilling life free of seizures.

    In any case to treat something like this in a caviler fashion and make jokes about conservatives or liberals with half-a-brain or what you can do with half-a-brain is inappropriate and callous IMO. I wrote a PM to each poster (I include yours below) requesting that they edit their posts “somewhat†and I asked the Mods to remove the offending comments. I wasn’t rude or demanding but I made my point and obviously someone agreed. You are more than welcome to go and start your own thread/topic concerning brains and you’re more than welcome to start with me.

    In fact I think some of the comments would be entirely appropriate just not in this topic or this context. I value your POV and your right to express yourself if I was to politically correct (heaven forbid) I apologize.

    Wildkow

    PM to SparrowHawk60. . .

    I know your remarks were not directed towards the little girl having half her brain removed but the other remarks are entirely inappropriate and if I ask to have them removed I know someone is going to bring up your posts also. Could you please edit them somewhat?
     
  10. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    well, that half of her brain isn't doing much for her the way it's wired to cause seizures.

    as others have said, the brain is pretty incredible. not to say it will be at all easy for this girl, but she stands to do much better with that half removed.
     
  11. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    I didn't see any humorous postings directed at the little girl, nor did I post any myself. My humorous posting was clearly directed at persons ready and able to defend themselves.

    Tom
     
  12. Wildkow

    Wildkow New Member

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    On second thought maybe I was a bit to PC but I believe yours or another one was the post that insinuated that she should become a conservative or would be a good conservative. It was aimed directly at the little girl and was tasteless to the extreme. Imagine if her family or loved ones owned a Prius and reads these forum’s?

    Markderail’s comment was humorous however and appropriate, as it was aimed at me and just FYI Mark I did have a vasectomy but as we men all know it merely left me with 1½ brains and still fully functional. Unlike EJFB who we all know has no junk below the waist or between the ears as demonstrated by his use of a posters family member to insult and demean that poster. Congrats EJFB you and burritos are in the same circle of spineless, cowardly nitwits that resort to insulting posters family members. I wish the Mods would do something about this because I personally believe that anyone that brings a posters family member or loved ones into an insulting or demeaning post is the lowest cowardly act and should have to publically apologize and be suspended.

    We use humor sometimes when something in a situation bothers us enough to have to use humor to deal with it. But as efusco said it wasn’t so much the content as the direction the comments were quickly going that needed to be nipped in the bud. Good job efusco. Now if he could just address EJFB’s crude remark about my family before I have to come down to the Republic of Texas and teach him some manners I would be grateful.

    Wildkow
     
  13. saminjax

    saminjax Member

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    I really don't think he meant it that way, Kow. Quite honestly, I was kind of thinking the same thing - that maybe something had happened in your family or a friend because you seemed so passionate in this thread, like it might hit home somehow. Not implying anyone in your family has half a brain or anything insulting, just that maybe there was some physical problem with someone you reallly care about. I'm very sorry if I'm offending in any way by suggesting such. Like I said, you just seem so passionate about this. Hope no one in your family has any such problem, though.
     
  14. markderail

    markderail I do 45 mins @ 3200 PSI

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    ...And I knew you would take it in stride, WK. :D I had one too btw. :rolleyes:


    FWIW, I posted that comment before even reading the article, and between noon and 1pm EST, the PriusChat server seems to die.
    I had intended to post another, but couldn't, until now...

    :(

    My cousin was born with a small hole in her heart, which caused complications at birth, her brain was oxygen starved.

    Today she isn't 100% autonomous, but she's not bad either, and was checked in her teens by one of those ECG brain scanners.
    Much less than half had activity.

    She knows her colors, can speak reasonably well, I've even played tic-tac-toe & checkers with her. Just don't get her angry, she's loads of fun.

    I also saw a National Geographic article about what happened in Africa/Rwanda. This poor kid was shot in the head point-blank. Survived with less than half his brain, and was able to hold a conversation, helped at the farm, etc.

    The brain truly is an incredible organ, I think it's special in it's adaptability.
    It's rather devastating as an adult, but as a growing child, in this case, better than the alternative - slow death.

    It's articles like this that Time.Com should do follow-ups on.
     
  15. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    [Pissed off moderator hat] PEOPLE!!! I haven't had to edit a thread this heavily in ages. Please stick to the topic Kow posted. Please stop with the insulting jabs at one another and the various political bodies. I've given one infraction already and my fuse is short and I've got the next 5 days off with nothing better to do than suspend people who can't play nice.[/Pissed off moderator hat]
    :doh::spy:
     
  16. saminjax

    saminjax Member

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    EEEEEEEK!!! ANOTHER MAD DOCTOR! :shocked:
    :bolt:


    Just kidding... I'll behave. :D
     
  17. Wildkow

    Wildkow New Member

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    Sorry to hear about your cousin. BTW thanks for sticking with the Folding team wish we had more like you!

    Wildkow
     
  18. saminjax

    saminjax Member

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    What is the folding team?
     
  19. Wildkow

    Wildkow New Member

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  20. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Heck, if super smart people are only using 12% or so, then it stands to reason, you could do w/o a bunch of the cells. Look how many folks fry 100's of thousand via drugs/alcohol and yet still function.

    .