Nothing is something. Choosing not to act is an action. So what if I said no to research? I can do that. This is America and I have the right to remain silent.

I'd be doing something though. It just wouldn't be what they wanted.
 

This presents a problem to the science community.
 

What do I want? Maybe they could buy me. That is the American Way.

 Two and a Half Men - Alan testing a new medication

You Won't Forget Me

I could have been one of those kids-just the normal everyday kind of person you went to school with. I went on to do my own thing. No big deal. I had ups and downs like anyone else. Maybe some more "ups", but it was nothing to go in a history book. Now it's different.

This is the government's way of dealing with  things...
 

That's how they have dealt with me.
 

I have had the most terrible, wonderful thing that could happen to a person happen to me.

There are things that are known and unknown. Instead of looking into what is unknown, I have been stuck on a shelf, filed away, and forgotten about.
 

What is known:  I had an AVM bleed which left me PVS. http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aha/strokeconnection_20090708/index.php#/10/OnePage I was unable to talk or move. I am continuously getting better (although extremely slow). I am most like this guy, http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-07-03-brain-rewired_x.htm but I am much higher cognitively functioning. Also, I have not stopped in progression- you can still see it as it happens. A while ago a physical therapist became obsessed with timing me do an exercise. Each time, my score improved by maybe only a second. I had to stop her.
 

The unknown:  why am I getting better? Although it is extremely slow (a few seconds for
an hour of therapy) it is still happening.
 

The government's way of  dealing with this is:  I have a number (Social Security number), and yearly I'm sent a form to be marked "yes/no" for improvement (this is for Social Security). My improvement has been slow and I usually mark "no". This guarantees Social Security payment. Improvement has been fast enough that I will have to mark this form "yes"eventually. Then there is the possibility Social Security is not guaranteed.

For 6 years I have lived independently.  I guess it's okay to be vegetative and live on your own.

If getting better can be replicated, even if it is slow,  the implications are great. Think...the ability to heal any brain injury.... This issue CAN NOT be forgotten.

Now take one of those kids above. You won't forget them.

Breathe Deep

Smell is something that is ignored when it comes to brain injury, or worse, ridiculed. It shouldn't be. The olfactory nerve is in the brain. In the case of brain injury, spontaneous smelling means this nerve is being stimulated. That means a nerve in the brain is working. Nerves in the brain working should be encouraged. Use it or lose it.

Recently I saw something on reverse engineering. It gave me an idea: apply the concept to neuroscience. All along my way, I've experienced a heightened sense of smell. I've taken it to be there's a reason for this to occur, but let's change it so that smell is first. Smell caused a change.

What we do know:  " The brain acquires certain skills—from visual perception to language—during critical windows, specific times in early life when the brain is actively shaped by environmental input."  http://dana.org/news/cerebrum/detail.aspx?id=39360 And "Neuroplasticity is a non-specific neuroscience term referring to the ability of the brain to change structurally and functionally as a result of input from the environment." from the search engine I'm using although it gives http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroplasticity which is similar. So a change in the environment, huh? I can do that. Therefore, by manipulating the environment, these critical windows may be "re-opened" for learning.
                                                                                                                                                 
Smell could be the environment. What is it?  It's perceiving odor. Well, what is "perception"? "All perception involves signals in the nervous system." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perception It's just chemicals in the brain stimulating a specific nerve.The olfactory nerve (smell) is in the brain. It's the first cranial nerve.

We know smell is involved in learning. "There have been many studies that have shown that new cells also migrate to the olfactory bulb, a region connected with learning of smells." http://jonlieffmd.com/blog/new-brain-cells-many-triggers-for-neurogenesis (Personally I was also probably developing smell, but for this intent I'm putting it first.)
 

The idea I have is simple enough: Manipulate the environment by changing the smell and THEN implement learning. Smell happens in the brain. Learning happens in the brain. The circuits are closely related. They have already been linked.
 

So let's change the environment. I'll need a smell. I'd like one that has been shown to work. It would be nice if it's fairly inexpensive and readily available. This should work:  http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/aromatherapy-orange.htm, an orange. It's readily available. If you don't have one in your kitchen, then they are at your store. They are cheap, too!
 

To use, simply peel. It's the peel that has the fragrance, so it's very inexpensive. It's what's discarded, the garbage.

Since I'm changing my environment, I will saturate it with the fragrance of orange. Not only the peel, but I'll add orange scented lotion, orange flavored lip balm, and orange toothpaste. These are things I already have. These are also scents that will be on my body. They'll go where I go.  If  I had fragrance (body spray), I'd wear that, too. (If you can eat orange candy, then add that.)
 

The easiest way to start an exercise routine if you are not in therapy:  http://braininjuryknow.blogspot.com/2010/12/rehab-at-home.html In it I give some basic information. This isn't meant to replace therapy. It just makes it easier. If not already receiving it, I urge you to get some. What's here, will hopefully  make it stick. You are in charge, not the other way around. Who changed the environment? You did. You are  directing how this plays out. You are the boss.
 
So breathe deep. The environment is changed.  Now some sort of therapy must be implemented.
 

 

 (If the scent of orange doesn't do anything for learning, at least it is "Sedative; relieves muscle spasms, cramping, and indigestion." http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/aromatherapy-orange.htm)

*

"There have been many studies that have shown that new cells also migrate to the olfactory bulb, a region connected with learning of smells." - See more at: http://jonlieffmd.com/blog/new-brain-cells-many-triggers-for-neurogenesis#sthash.5mkQKZPE.dpuf

____________________________________

Updated 3/24/2016

Do this with rosemary. http://www.spring.org.uk/2016/03/essential-oil-enhances-memory-past-future.php?omhide=true&utm_source=PsyBlog&utm_campaign=90bc0f686b-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_MAILCHIMP&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_10ef814328-90bc0f686b-214024385

If you do essential oils, then great. This can be done without. The plant is very aromatic. Potpourri can be made or just use sprigs from the plant.
 

"The aroma of rosemary essential oil enhances memory and the ability to remember future events, research finds."

Why It Won't Happen Again...For A Very Long Time

Why It Won't Happen Again...For A Very Long Time



Why won't this happen again in the public American medical system anytime soon? Money and current research is ignored. Wait. I did it. Can't someone else like me? Yes, but that person will have to possess my qualities. That wouldn't be anytime soon. (Qualities like how to provide basic rehab.)

There have been some leading (upper-class) people who have had brain injuries and have gone on to do remarkable things. They have one thing in common - they didn't use the public medical system.  Government officials won't use the government. I need say nothing more. Actions speak louder than words. I don't want to put these people down. Their injuries are serious. They just got the best they could afford. So have I. I can only afford the dirt on your shoe, though. So, anyone who does not have money will have to use a public government healthcare system that is undesirable to the government. Therefore, one using it has little chance to do something remarkable.

The second issue, and this is big to brain injury, current research is ignored. Here's a current issue that has been gaining popularity:  rewiring. The theory is not accepted. Rewiring does not exist. I've even done something on rewiring, http://braininjuryknow.blogspot.com/2012/03/what-heck-is-rewiring-brain-anyways.html   It doesn't matter, though. I don't exist. How can so many people believe in something that we are told we should not.

Here's something I did a while ago, http://braininjuryknow.blogspot.com/2013/04/getting-there.html It's based on actual current research. I find myself using it again and again, explaining to survivors of brain injury that there is growth, progression. Is my document one of the first few applications of this research? It basically is saying there is brain growth for years after a brain injury. Whoa! That totally goes against the entire medical system. They say a brain injury is permanent. This is the ultimate in rewiring! It ultimately does not exist. For someone like me I did not recover enough to write this. According to the government, I'm still lying in a bed unable to communicate. Again, the current is ignored.

Making Something New

Making Something New

“These fractionations appear to be something totally new,”  from http://neurosciencenews.com/brain-stroke-disrupts-muscle-synergy/ This is talking about muscle groups. I mentioned something similar to this in http://thoughtfulveg.blogspot.com/2011/04/making-neuropathway.html    When I say "I'm "making a new neural pathway", I am." I'm giving the neuroscience behind it.  This "something new" is seen in more than movement. In my case you can hear it, also.
 

This really puts the science behind creating something new and movement, http://thoughtfulveg.blogspot.com/2011/08/neurogenic-therapy.html  Movement where there was none? That's "new."  This was captivating enough to catch attention, and somebody important helped with  http://thoughtfulveg.blogspot.com/2011/10/why-art.html

 I do give the neuroscience behind it, and you see it's more than motor neurons. Remember, I didn't talk. I do now. It's not the greatest, but I can be understood. I don't sound as I did before my brain injury. This is definitely something new. Speech is not motor.

Because something "new" is being made, it is important that therapy continue a lot longer than current rehab. Sure there is initial rewiring http://braininjuryknow.blogspot.com/2012/03/what-heck-is-rewiring-brain-anyways.html but something else is going on. This goes back to my original description of the brain as being moldable like clay, yet possessing wondrous properties http://braininjuryknow.blogspot.com/2011/03/wonders-of-silly-putty.html. Some insurances will continue past the initial rehab. Those receiving that are lucky. For the majority, therapy stops when rehab stops.

This "new" thing takes a lot longer than rewiring. It's probably making a new neural pathway where one didn't exist before. Theoretically, the skill will continue to improve as  the therapy continues.



*For those with a brain injury and current therapy has stopped:  http://braininjuryknow.blogspot.com/2010/12/rehab-at-home.html

My Right Eye

"What's this?"

"Nothing." I quickly threw it away.

When I got out of the hospital, I had some boxes to go through of things my mother kept. There were a lot of boxes. I was in many hospitals for 4 years. While going through a box, a caregiver found an old eyepatch. I don't wear one now so she wouldn't know what it was.

I was lucky. My eye was only patched. Some places will sew it up.

It's been a process, but I use that eye again. It's not the greatest, meaning it is still weak, but no one would ever patch it now. I did something similar to Edward Taub's Constaint-Induced Movement Therapy:  use the weak one. He did it with arms, and I did it with eyes. Look it up. People are being amazed.


Other posts on vision:

"I Can See!"  http://braininjuryknow.blogspot.com/2010/12/i-can-see.html

"A New Therapy" http://thoughtfulveg.blogspot.com/2010/12/new-therapy.html

Where Is The Responsibility

A long time ago I commented on a talk. It's time to watch that lecture again. (Don't worry. It's not long.)

In it he talks about life span and how it has increased. He then applies it to neurological disorders and talks about how more people are living longer, and will therefore suffer from more neurological disorders. I see it differently. People suffering from neurological disorders will live longer. What will this mean? We only know what some diseases do short-term because the person who has it dies. I kept thinking, "Are we going to see more people wake up from comas?"

I'm the first with PVS, but this has happened before (to a lesser extent. He was talking, but not writing.), http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-07-03-brain-rewired_x.htm Will it happen again? Probably.

So, what brought me to write this? Well like Where Is The Love, we don't know where the responsibility is either.

A while ago I had a surgery and I wondered if that particular hospital would lay claim to my feats of late. They really are not responsible for what I am doing. They are however, responsible for me living longer. I would have done it anyway if I lived long enough. They don't know they did it, but Stanford Hospital did something big:  http://www.ndrn.org/en/media/releases/485-study-finds-medical-procedures-violating-the-civil-rights-of-people-with-disabilities.html The government's, and many hospital's policy is to treat my problem with medication. The person eventually dies. Stanford Hospital removed the problem entirely. It no longer affected my life-span. By lengthening my life, they gave me the time to do what I needed to do.So what I am doing is still of my own doing.

Responsibility lies more with a drug prescribed at another hospital. It is associated with, but not yet tested for, brain growth. All that I'm doing...it's due to brain growth. But really now, who is responsible for my actions? I am.