Throughout the year, I read many things. Of course much is related to my work. However others are related to my interests and include biography and fiction. To see my blog on the books I read other then brain injury go to http://timtitolo.spaces.live.com/lists/cns!8274E62551D682F0!309/.
While driving with his head lights off down a country highway, Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), his girlfriend Kelly (Laura Vandervoort) and two friends crash into a stalled combine on the road, which results in Chris' brain damage affecting his short-term memory, and death of the two friends.
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Four years later, Chris has to write things down to remember them. Chris works at the Noel State Bank & Trust as the night janitor. He aspires to work as a teller, but the bank manager, Mr. Tuttle (David Huband), does not think that Chris is capable. While cleaning the bank, Chris is watched by four men: Gary Spargo (Matthew Goode), Marty (Morgan Kelly), Cork (Aaron Berg), and Bone (Greg Dunham). Also, every time after his shift, a police officer Ted (Sergio Di Zio) comes by to chat with Chris and brings donuts. At home, Lewis (Jeff Daniels), Chris' blind best friend, makes Chris tell the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears backwards to help him with his sequencing problems, and Chris writes down "start from the end." Later, as Chris is sitting alone at a bar, Gary walks in and introduces himself.
Chris and Lewis go to visit Chris’ wealthy family for Thanksgiving. Lewis tells Chris' parents, Barbara Pratt (Alberta Watson) and Robert Pratt (Bruce McGill) about a gas station that he and Chris want to turn into a restaurant.
The next time Chris is at the bar, Gary and two girls walk in, and one of them, Luvlee (Isla Fisher), starts talking to Chris. The four leave together to Luvlee’s apartment, where Chris ends up sleeping with her. Afterwards, Gary invites Chris to a farm to have a late Thanksgiving dinner. At home, Chris tells Lewis about his recent experience with Luvlee and Gary, which makes Lewis suspicious.
Chris goes to the farm, where Gary introduces Chris to his gang. In the basement, Chris notices a board, which Gary says is a plan still in progress. Chris sees pictures and notes of banks and Gary says he needs his help because he is going to rob the bank Chris works at. Gary tries to convince Chris that he is still dependent on his family and others, which Chris does not acknowledge initially. Gary tells Chris that he can have his old life back and reinforces this with the phrase "Whoever has the money has the power." Chris starts noticing that he is dependent and agrees to take part in the robbery. Chris is told that he is the lookout and has to call Gary when money arrives at the bank.
In Chris' apartment, Luvlee talks to Lewis, who tells her that he used to cook meth, which blinded him. Lewis makes it clear that he had known plenty of "Luvlees" and "Garys", and knows that they are going to hurt Chris. Chris hears the entire conversation, and when Chris and Lewis go to a restaurant to eat, Chris loses his temper and says that he’s going to move out. Chris also tells Ted to stop checking on him. The next day, Luvlee packs up and leaves despite seeing Chris coming to her house.
On the night of robbery, Mr. Tuttle tells Chris that he noticed his improvement, and that he will try him as a teller. Subsequently, Chris tells Gary and his team that he does not want to take part in the robbery and will not tell anyone about it. However, Gary attacks Chris and tells him to do his job. After the safe is opened, Gary makes Chris retrieve the money because of the cameras. When Ted comes, he notices a suspicious activity, and a gun fight breaks out. Ted kills Marty and shoots Cork and Gary as well. However, Bone shoots Ted. Chris runs out leaving in the getaway car with the money.
Chris drives to his apartment, where Gary and Bone are holding Lewis hostage, so he goes to his family’s house and comes up with a plan. He puts a shotgun into one of the duffel bags, calls Gary and arranges a meeting at the ice rink to exchange the money for Lewis. Chris then drives to where his car accident was and buries the money. At the ice rink, Chris says that he buried the money but forgot where. Gary, who is bleeding to death, finds the place in Chris' notebook and tell him to dig it up. Chris hands Bone one of the bags, and just before Bone shoots Lewis, Chris shoots him. Gary then dies on the ground.
Chris is cleared of all charges because he returns the money, confesses, and the camera footage shows that Gary forced Chris to participate. Chris and Lewis open their planned restaurant, although Chris' impairments make giving change difficult. Chris starts to ice skate again. Although he knows that his life is still limited, he has accepted it and is willing to move forward.
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I suppose brain disease is fertile substance for novels; especially novels that cross into the 
supernatural.
I recently completed this almost 600 page debut work of author Daniel Hecht written in 1998. The book was referred to me by a psychiatric expert who assists me with traumatic brain injury cases I handle. It was a very fast read despite its length. I enjoyed it immensely.
I recently was in New York for a conference, which added to the experience since the book takes place in areas west of Manhattan. I could easily visualize the trees and Hudson River descriptions from my locale.
The characters are all excellently defined and believable real people with relatable issues and thoughts. The main character, Paul Skoglund, has Tourettes. He is medicated and it is a mild condition for him. However, it bears on the climatic ending of the book.
Mr. Hecht certainly stretches the imagination with how the brain condition can manifest itself. By the end of the book, the manifestation reveals the story might sit well alongside a Stephen King shelf in a bookstore. However, by that time I was so engrossed in the story, characters and mystery, the thriller part came naturally.
I plan to look at the prequel, which I understand includes the other main character, the detective, who is not lucky enough In Skull Session to appear in any sequels.
I received a comment on my blog entry titled "TBI Rehabilitation" posted on by attorney Steve Doroghazi. His wife Cynthia underwent surgery in 1990 that left her permanently brain injured.
Fortunately Cynthia went on to recover from many of her impairments and graduated college some years later.
Cynthia has written a book which can be reviewed at http://www.newriverpublications.com/Searching_for_the_Open_Door.html.
I am always appreciative and very interested in the writing and publication efforts of those who suffer brain injury. Please take a look at Cynthia's work.
Thank you Steve for sharing this wonderful comment:
As an attorney and husband of a medical malpractice TBI PATIENT, I agree with your observations completely. My wife, Cynthia suffered a traumatic brain injury during a routine operation at George Washington University Medical Center in May 1990. That operation was designed to correct a condition known as hydrocephalus (water on the brain), by inserting a VP shunt in the meninges of her brain, thereby relieving intracranial pressure caused by the hydrocephalus. Unfortunately, a bleed occurred during the operation and went undetected long enough for her brain to begin collapsing in on itself, long enough for her to experience respiratory failure, and long enough for her to suffer permanent neurological damage.
After spending three months in the hospital, Cynthia was transferred by ambulance to Magee Rehabilitation hospital (Magee) in Philadelphia. After three months of intensive therapy at Magee, she was able to walk, with a quad cane, about sixty feet at a time. While she still wore diapers, her feeding tube had been removed, and she was beginning to communicate on an adult level, although with a flat affect to her speech. You can see from the photos on her web site that Cynthia has progressed far beyond this point, and far beyond all doctors' predictions.
Twenty-two months after her release from Magee, Cynthia resumed her master's program at The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies(SAIS)as a Philip Merrill fellow. She graduated in 1994; and, in 1995, her medical malpractice case was tried before the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Wanting to tell her amazing story and, simultaneously, communicate her messages of hope, inspiration and the overall power of family, friends and prayer, Cynthia has written a book - Searching For The Open Door, A Woman's Struggle For Survival After A Traumatic Brain Injury. Cynthia plans to donate ten to twenty percent of book sales to Magee. This is her attempt to "give back" and provide others with the hope and inspiration to put up a good fight. To read a sample chapter of Cynthia's book, go to: http://www.newriverpublications.com/Searching_for_the_Open_Door.html
I just finished Terminal Man written by Michael Crichton in 1972. The thing I like about Crichton is his ability to look into the future, so to speak, with his subject matter. Clearly, I am the late bloomer here since this book is close to 40 years old. Nevertheless, keeping the perspective of the time the book was written enchanted me. This was early Crichton.
Harry Benson is having seizures that cause violent outbursts injurious to those in the immediate area of their occurrence. This condition is rampant in the human condition and has previously been misdiagnosed. Finally, with scientific intervention, the brain can be wired to a computer that will control violent behavior using a neuro pacemaker similar to the one used for cardiac monitoring.
The problem begins when the rats start to over stimulate themselves to point of death. Similarly, Harry begins to enjoy the euphoria of stimulation, which is triggered by violent patterns in the brain. However, Harry, a computer genius, believes that machines are taking over the world. His psychiatrist thinks the concept of “mind control” is dangerous but the surgeons are convinced they are serving a greater good by using Harry as part of their ongoing research. The goal is to one day deliver the answers to diseases of the mind.
Crichton develops his knack for scientific information intertwined with fiction to create a plot that ends with the action and suspense characteristic of his future novels.
I am especially endeared to this story as it was so reaching in the area of brain science for its time. Moreover, of course, I am endeared to the subject of brain science. For those of you who are either brain science fans or Crichton fans, I recommend reading the book.
In a case of "hydrancephaly," Dr. Firlik was forced to decide whether doing surgery to slow the abnormal growth of an infant's head was justified given the condition. Hydrancephaly occurs when the brain does not develop its cerebral portion and, instead, fills the void in the skull with cerebrospinal fluid. If the cerebrospinal fluid does not absorb properly the head will expand creating a weight the infant neck cannot support. Evacuating the fluid may decrease the head size but the lack of brain will not make the infant any more likely to survive. Other pediatric conditions include schizencephaly, pachygyria, holoprosencephaly, and tuberous sclerosis. Apert syndrome is a congenital condition including multiple craniofacial abnormalities and syndacity (fusion of the fingers). Holoprosencephaly, also known as arhinencephaly, is a developmental defect of the midline brain structures which causes midline facial abnormalities. All these rare pediatric conditions create disturbing features for the infant and their parents. So if the brain makes it through the initial stages of life, Dr. Firlik comments, it is still amazing that it goes on to develop "normally." And is "normalcy" measured by IQ? For centuries researchers have attempted to correlate brain volume and intelligence. Nevertheless, that simplistic general rule is peppered with exceptions. For instance, Einstein was said to have a below average sized brain. Other research describes the correlation between gray matter and intelligence. Still, better technology points to the function of the brain as the best indicator of intelligence. Dr. Firlik observes, "Clearly, in order for the fragmented community of brain injury specialists to come to any meaningful conclusions about the physical brain and intelligence, much more needs to happen: existing studies need to repeated or otherwise validated, the major questions need to be approached from multiple angles, and there needs to be communication across disciplines (the hard part)." 
Chapter 11 entitled "Disturbing Deviations" takes the reader through Dr. Firlik's experience and observations of Pediatric Neurology. As a resident and a practicing surgeon, Dr. Firlik grapples with clinical detachment, reality and horror of being unable to change the "randomness of nature."
I recently read the 2007 book called The Nine, by Jeffrey Toobin. The author gives us glimpses into the people appointed by Presidents Clinton and Bush with some 1960s and 1970s appointments that made up the liberal court. Surprises abound as Republican appointed Justices created a new kind of conservative court.
Two political ironies underscore Jeffrey Toobin's interesting new account of how personnel changes have changed the Supreme Court over the past two decades.
One is that, at the very time the Republican Party's four-decade ascendancy shows signs of abating, President Bush's appointments of Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito have enabled conservatives to achieve their long-sought goal of a firm court majority.
Secondly, for all the GOP's advocacy of judicial restraint and its criticism of judges who legislate from the bench, the Republican-appointed majority represents what the author terms "a new kind of judicial activism" that threatens long-established rulings in crucial areas such as abortion and affirmative action.
O'Connor and Kennedy have maintained the swing vote on the court. And, as Toobin points out, it all about how many votes you can muster that makes your opinion count.
As the Renquist court became the Roberts court the issues of abortion, Roe v Wade, still dominate the agenda. With the most likely Justices to retire, Liberal Souter, Stevens and Ginsburg, the new conservative court will be an interesting observation in the coming years.
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