As I've said before, I don't know what Keith's current diagnoses are, but given the amount of time that has passed since the fall, and the degree of silence from Keith, his family, and the Stones, I'm just assuming Keith is dealing with some neurological issues as described below. I would love to be wrong.
Here's some good info about the diagnosis of mild head injury - more info can be found at: [
www.biausa.org]
Some possibly relevant info from that site includes:
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Levels of Brain Injury -
Emergency personnel typically determine the severity of neurological injury to the brain by using an assessment called the Glascow Coma Scale (GCS) to. The terms Mild Brain Injury, Moderate Brain Injury, and Severe Brain Injury are used to describe the level of initial injury in relation to the neurological severity caused to the brain. There may be no correlation between the initial Glascow Coma Scale score and the initial level of brain injury and a person’s short or long term recovery, or functional abilities. Keep in mind that there is nothing “Mild” about a brain injury—again, the term “Mild” Brain injury is used to describe a level of neurological injury. Any injury to the brain is a real and serious medical condition.
An Injured Brain -
When a brain injury occurs, the functions of the neurons, nerve tracts, or sections of the brain can be effected. If the neurons and nerve tracts are effected, they can be unable or have difficulty carrying the messages that tell the brain what to do. This can result in Thinking Changes, Physical Changes, and Personality and Behavioral Changes. These changes can be temporary or permanent. They may cause impairment or a complete inability to perform a function. Some possible changes are described below.
Thinking Changes -
Memory, Communication, Perception, Decision making, Reading and writing skills, Thought flexibility, Planning, Thought processing speed, Safety awareness, Sequencing, Problem solving skills, New learning, Judgement, Organization, Attention, Self-perception
Physical Changes -
Muscle movement, Taste, Balance, Muscle coordination, Smell, Speech, Sleep, Touch, Seizures, Hearing, Fatigue, Sexual Functioning, Vision, Weakness
Personality and Behavioral Changes -
Social skills, Self-monitoring remarks or actions, Frustration, Stress, Emotional control and mood swings, Reduced self-esteem, Denial, Appropriateness of behavior, Irritability or agitation, Motivation, Self-centeredness, Coping skills, Depression, Anger management, Anxiety, Excessive laughing or crying
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The positive side of this issue is that with time and therapies, brain injury effects WILL lessen. It's nothing short of amazing how far people can come from the initial time of injury to the eventual outcomes. However, it takes time - usually a lot of time - to get to the plateau point in recovery. Also, adaptations can be used to assist people with a variety of functional skills.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-05-21 21:58 by triplelicks.