Archive for August, 2008
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
WIRED FOR MIRACLES?
By: Jim Robbins
JAKE’S BIRTH WAS A LONG SHOT. Three months premature, he weighed just a pound, and his early birth took a heavy neurological toll. When he was four, he entered his parents’ room one evening, drooling and unable to speak. As they watched, horrified, one side of his body went into seizure and he lost consciousness. Jake’s seizures often happened at night, and his parents kept an overnight bag packed for trips to the hospital emergency room, where he received injections of Valium. He often had petit mal seizures during the day. He was also diagnosed with cerebral palsy, which diminished his fine and gross motor skills. His learning disabilities included attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity. He had speech problems and ground his teeth constantly. His sleep was troubled and he often woke up ten or eleven times in a night.
