#brain-injury

#brain-injury

She was a kind, caring, quiet woman. Unfortunately, her kindness and her caring nature was all taken advantage of.

As the weeks near towards Christmas Day, one young Wexford child is preparing to give the greatest gift of all; inspiration that anything can be overcome with hard work and passion. Nine-year-old Poppie Davies Messett from Gorey, was born with a brain injury to parents Hollie Davies and Gary Messett. Having spent days in the ICU and been just recently diagnosed with autism and dyspraxia, Hollie never imagined that she would be bringing her daughter to rehearsals after being offered a spot on the Late Late Toy Show.

I can't blame them for burning out or seeking new challenges. But it's not easy to bring a new practitioner up to speed when you have a long, complicated medical, dental, social, economic, and cognitive history after brain injury. Educating and learning a new person's facial expressions and body language suck you dry. Losing trusted support over and over leads to separation anxiety and diminished capacity to trust.

But through Facebook groups and GoFundMe pages, I began to connect with families going through similar ordeals. Despite the pain and relentless demands of their situations, many were open and generous with their time. That was especially true of Jessica Pittizola Jarrett and her son, John-Bryan, who goes by JB and suffered an anoxic brain injury and other complications after overdosing on fentanyl in September 2020.

The more scientists research how we sleep, the more they discover how important sleeping is to our overall health and wellbeing. But those aren't the only sleep-related discoveries scientists are making. The latest high-profile finding is less about the benefits of sleep and more connected to how the brain behaves during sleep, something that could have wider implications for our understanding of the human body.

After the incident, I was treated for brain injuries similar to those of Gabrielle Giffords, unable to manage normal life functions any longer.

"It was a no-brainer - no pun intended," Goldsmith said. "Sammy was the most selfless, giving person. We knew she would've wanted us to help someone else."

I felt his loneliness and fear. I thought, Children have their parents and families to comfort them in their fear, but who do adults have?

"It's hard to put into words. Things that were on the tip of your tongue just would not come out. Out of the 60 tracts in my brain, 27 were damaged."