> Trisha a day or two back gave the standard definition about the CP brain
> injury being static.  In light of recent research there seems little
static
> about the brain (perhaps too much "static" in human thinking).  Who knows
of
> any research reassessing Trisha's assumption?  Be there much matter
whether
> our brain injuries are static or dynamic?  Something accelerates changes
and
> disruptions throughout our bodies.  For sure that's become evident in our
> discussions.


      Actaully - what I said was based on talking with Doctors and research
and appling a little brain power. Amber had a stroke at the birth - this is
when a blood vessel bursts in the brain - since the brain is a confined
closed system surrounded by the membrane called the dura - this is called a
subdural hematoma or a hmetoma is what we commonly call a bruise - a
collection of blood - the blood excerts pressure on the brain cells - they
are musched and die. What ever those brain cells did is now gone. In a
babies brain - the cells haven't set-up hard and fast so their is stilll
some plasticity and functions can reroute. Amber has a big hole in her
brain - I saw the CAT scan - the cells that where destroyed will never come
back  - the end - the cavity fills with spinal fluid. The cells at the edges
of the hole are either complete and fine or damaged. The damaged ones - can
still fire but they do so at random and sometimes this causes the surrounds
cells to also fire and set off even more cells - this is called a seizure.
Amber can never regrow those cells that are gone. The body damage comes from
the lack of normal usage and the body growing. The brain controls our entire
body - an electrical impulse generated in our brain - a commanda to an arm
to lift. Without the specific brains cells - this command does not not come
off. At part of muscle growth is usage - ever seen someone just out of a
cast and the muscles have atrophied and shrivel - ue to the lack of use. Now
pictures these muscles as rubber band stretched from joint to joint. As the
muscles atrophy thru lack of growth they exert pressure on the joints - when
the pressure is unequal the stronger one slowly pulls the bones into
different positions without a strong opposing muscle - the strogest of weak
ones wins - this is why Amber's leg is being pulled out of its joint and her
back is bend sideways. Obc\viously the answer is to then provide what the
weaker muscle need to name it strong. electrical impulses and usage or
releasing the tension thru surgery.

   Now the aging process happens to everyone - and everyone ends up with
wear and tear on their joints - falls, sprains, stress from miss use,
everyday usage. All of us slow down as we age and the wear and tear - begins
to add up. With CP - the muscles and their attached joints having had more
stress on them to begin with - show the sign of aging and stress sooner.
Your brain doesn't have to continue being damaged for this. The more
movement and muscle strength you have aquired should help with stress on the
joint and help with the aging. All of us lose abilities as we age -
especially the more couch potato inclined -  active people last longer - as
what you don't use - you lose. When the brain actually does being to have
problems - it manifest itself as Altsheimers. It is true we are just
beginning to explore the brain - as dead ones don't tell us much and we
aren't suppose to torture people and brains are incased in people - we need
fairly elaborate high tech equipment to measure and map and study the brain.
They where able to tell me what the portion of Amber brain which wasn't
there anymore did. It controled the motor portion to her right side and her
ability to express herself in speech. She was not ever to walk nor talk.
Obviously some rewiring occured as she does both. Also the e-stim and TES -
which replaced the electrical impulses her brain didn't produce - stimulated
the bones and muscles to grow - this is the same stuff they use to help
athletes heal injuries quicker and older people to help broken bones heal
faster. I watched becasue obviously such reversal of paralysis doesn't
happen overnight. I saw the muscles grow and the atrophing being reversed
and a previously shortend and shriveld limb becasue close to the side of the
other, and when we stopped so did the grow and it began to regress. It
doesn't take a rocket scientist to observe, read a little and draw
conclusions. And if it does - I hope NASA has a chair with my name on it. I
recognize we do not teach our people to think - but to look to experts for
answer and obey the rules. Let me clue you in - you too can have think
things thru. I have seen Amber do it as an 18 month old - so I am fairly
sure - its a species skill we are born with.  Rather than expecting the
answer from someone else think about the dynamics involved involved and the
complexity - that's all someone did in the first place - think - conclude -
maybe observe or experiemnt - to write the first book for the experts to
read and declare thmselves experts - its all in the library and today on the
Internet.

    As humans we seem to have a propensity to draw ever smaller circles that
exclude others and allow us to feel better and special. Amber  hopfully is
never going to define who she is as first and formost being a  CPer - but
one who balances the many facets  of being a human - and  one many facets -
is being a Right Hemiplegic - another having brown hair, yet another having
brown eyes, etc. I have pointed out to her we must balance life with our
varied interest and skills or we become mentally lopsided  and focus on one
thing to our detriment. When we strive for balance and put things in
perspective - we can move forward  and be well rounded. I have also pointed
out - no where is it written - Thou shalt have a perfect body and life. Life
is what you make it and as Christopher Reeve and many others have found
out - 30 seconds can change your picture perfect body into useless jello -
who we are exists entirely with in the grey matter we call a brain - the
body is vehicle for getting around - despite our deification of it - its
tool. A brainless body does nothing. A bodiless brain can still produce and
benefit - its self and others.

                                                            Trisha