Girl With Half A Brain Going To College

[3dGameMan]

Girl With Half A Brain Going To College: ~source (http://www.nbc10.com/news/4563166/detail.html?subid=10101521)

http://images.ibsys.com/2005/0603/4566043_200X150.jpg

BRISTOL, Pa. -- A teenage girl from Bristol in Bucks County will be overcoming incredible odds when she graduates from Conwell Egan High School next week.

Christina Santhouse was only 8 years old when one day her ankle suddenly began to twitch, which led to full body seizures.

Somehow, Christina had caught a virus that caused Rasmussen's encephalitis.

"They said there was a virus that was attacking my brain, and the pulsations in my ankle would soon turn into full body seizures and the only cure would be the removal of half of my brain," Christina said.

Christina began having seizures every three minutes. She needed a wheelchair.

FeedRoom


Girl Has Half A Brain




She made the decision to have the operation to have half of her brain removed at Johns Hopkins Childrens Center by neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

"So, I wrote a letter to Dr. Carson and I said, 'I can't live like this any more,' and we scheduled the surgery and went from there," Christina said.

Christina had that operation 10 years ago. She didn't just have part of her brain removed -- as in ordinary epilepsy surgery -- she literally had half of her brain taken out.

"She really does only have half a brain, and you can see that very nicely on the MRI. The right hemisphere has been taken out," said Dr. Sanjeey Kothare.

Kothare is one of Christina's neurologists at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. He said that the surgery wasn't Christina's best chance -- it was her only chance...

[Sky Rookie]

Wow, that's cool!

I wish here the best of luck in college! :Thumb

[KaNaDiAnIcEmAn]

"dude your so dumb a girl with 1/2 a brain is smarter than you"

"ya dude thats pretty dumb"



GO GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hopefuly she dont have 1/2 a brain when it comes to the partying....

[bejohnson]

Johns Hopkins department of Neurology and Neurosurgery is top notch. These people are the best when it comes to the brain. Dr. Carson is just one of the extremely talented and dedicated doctors on staff. He has been involved wiyh Brandi's study for many years and is a total professional.

Benjamin Carson, MD

http://www.neuro.jhmi.edu/profiles/photos/carson.jpg

Dr. Benjamin Carson has been Director of the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins since 1984. He is Professor Neurosurgery, Plastic Surgery, Oncology and Pediatrics. He is also the Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Craniofacial Center. His practice includes traumatic brain injuries, brain and spinal cord tumors, achondroplasia, neurological and congenital disorders, craniosynostosis, epilepsy, and trigeminal neuralgia. This work includes active research programs.

Dr. Carson has written over 90 neurosurgical publications. He has been awarded 24 honorary degrees and dozens of national citations of merit. He is the author of three best selling books, "Gifted Hands" and "Think Big" and "The Big Picture".

Dr. Carson conducts clinics weekly on Monday afternoons and Fridays, and is available for consultation at other times by contacting 410-955-7888.

CURRENT ADDRESS
The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Department of Neurosurgery
Harvey 811
600 N. Wolfe Street
Baltimore, MD 21287
Phone: 410-955-7888
Fax: 410-955-0626

EDUCATION & TRAINING

B.A., Yale University, New Haven, CT
M.D., University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI
Internship, General Surgery, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD
Residency, Neurological Surgery, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD
Senior Registrar in Neurosurgery, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Center, Western Australia


CURRENT APPOINTMENTS

Professor of Neurosurgery, Oncology, Plastic Surgery and Pediatrics, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Co-Director, The Craniofacial Center, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD
Active Staff, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD


CERTIFICATIONS

American Board of Neurological Surgery
American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery

[ansaarkhan400]

Damn, make me want to work as hard as I can. ;)

I have the utmost respect for people like that. :Thumb

[ansaarkhan400]

Wait, so if one hemisphere was removed, what can she NOT do?

[bejohnson]

Wait, so if one hemisphere was removed, what can she NOT do?

She walks with a limp, her left hand is useless and she has no peripheral vision. When one half of the brain is removed at an early age the remaining half assumes the chores of both hemispheres.

Hemispherectomy patients always have some paralysis on the side of the body opposite to that of the removed hemisphere.

Language is also controlled primarily by one hemisphere--the left. After a left hemispherectomy, patients often develop expressive aphasia. They understand language but have trouble remembering the correct words when they speak.

Children recover best from hemispherectomies because their brains are more adaptable than those of adults. The remaining half of a child's brain is better at taking over the functions from the side that was removed. In the case of expressive aphasia, left hemispherectomy patients eventually regain language abilities by using the right half of the brain, even in patients in their teens.

Christina required a right hemispherectomy, so losing language wasn't as much of a concern. She had the surgery five months after her diagnosis. By then she was experiencing about 100 seizures a day. The operation took 14 hours. Afterward, Christina suffered an intense headache that lasted several days. She spent two weeks in the hospital and then two more in a rehabilitation center. She returned to school four months after the surgery.

Christina takes no medication for her condition and hasn't had a seizure since the surgery. Occasionally, when she turns her head too quickly, she feels a sloshing sensation in the space where her right brain used to be. That space has since filled with cerebrospinal fluid; this is the fluid that cushions the brain.

Christina is still in therapy. Her left arm is partially paralyzed; she can move her left shoulder and elbow, but doesn't have normal sensation or muscle control in her left hand and fingers. She also wears an ankle brace to help support her left foot.


The above information is courtesy of Dr. Benjamin Carson.