Brain Injury Support Group
Traumatic brain injury occurs when a sudden trauma causes brain damage. TBI can result from a closed head injury or a penetrating head injury. Symptoms of a TBI can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the extent of the damage to the brain. Outcome can be anything from complete recovery to permanent disability or death. A coma can also affect a child's brain.
I got the hospital records from my accident that happened almost 50 years ago. Can anyone decode into layman's terms for me?
The records are not very extensive. In fact, they amount to a few 'letters'. Should i have expected to see any actual data?
A few points on one letter
1. Irritable, crying, but fully conscious baby
2. extensive right frontal parietal cepha-hematoma (does that mean bruising?)
3. xray revealed extensive right fronto-parietal fracture with diastasis of approx. 2-3 mms.
another letter mentions
1 crack of the calvarium on the right frontal parietal region with a cephalo=hematoma
2 the eeg was not normal
eeg report
sedated with nembutal
irregular medium voltage activity in all head regions
fair amount of irregular slow activity seen mostly in the right post central regions.
That's about it. From what i understand, they sent me home telling my parents 'all is well'.
The records are not very extensive. In fact, they amount to a few 'letters'. Should i have expected to see any actual data?
A few points on one letter
1. Irritable, crying, but fully conscious baby
2. extensive right frontal parietal cepha-hematoma (does that mean bruising?)
3. xray revealed extensive right fronto-parietal fracture with diastasis of approx. 2-3 mms.
another letter mentions
1 crack of the calvarium on the right frontal parietal region with a cephalo=hematoma
2 the eeg was not normal
eeg report
sedated with nembutal
irregular medium voltage activity in all head regions
fair amount of irregular slow activity seen mostly in the right post central regions.
That's about it. From what i understand, they sent me home telling my parents 'all is well'.
The following link describes it much better than I can. http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/cephalhematoma
I agree with KellySue, back then they knew very little about the brain and many injuries went untreated.
How are you doing so many years later?
Thanks for the link. I will check it out.
You must have taken a pretty decent lick on the head to incur this. Sporty is correct hematoma means bruising. It means bleeding under the skin. This could also cause swelling around the brain.
It's a difficult journey following such an injury. I know all about starting all over in a career. Good luck to you!
SSE
Diastasis is the separation of two body parts that should be joined, and 2-3 mms. is the distance of which the parts are separated.
An EEG measures the electrical activity in your brain, and usually, when it's highly abnormal, it indicates seizure activity. Not all abnormal EEG readings indicate that you're having seizures, but in my (uneducated) opinion, I think your results suggest that you are. However, I am NOT qualified to diagnose you, and you need to see a neurologist.
If you are having abnormal electrical activity in all head regions, you are probably having a generalized seizure. Some people can be having seizures and not know it. I was having seizures probably all my life until September/October and it intensified by 1,000,000,000 x's to where I became severely impaired, had the most severe EEG my neurologist had ever seen, probably caused some brain damage, and have barely shown any improvement in recovery from my seizures.
Petit mal are generalized seizures and they aren't too noticeable but are likely to develop into grand mal if not control (as can many others).
It sounds like you've received horrible medical treatment! Whatever your accident was it seems like it was pretty severe and left you with some pretty severe damage. I'm making the assumption that you haven't received any further treatment regarding the accident since 1963, which you probably really need to! I hope that your reason for obtaining your hospital records is to provide this information to a doctor, which you are planning to make an appointment with.
Wow. "All is Well". Unreal!