International wireless communication and
satellite Internet technologies make this post
possible. Daniel's mother Margarita is there
at Kindred in San Marcos, cellular phone in
hand, and I am south of a fishing port on the
shore of the Gulf of California in Baja California,
Mexico. I post this message with the help of
solar panels and batteries powering my laptop
and transmitting it to a tiny satellite up there
somewhere in the backdrop of our galaxy and
the universe.
Margarita reports that the Baclofen is giving
Daniel respite from the posturing, he is definite-
ly more relaxed, rested, and this has facilitated
more progress with physical therapy. He is able to
sit for longer periods. This has enabled family and
friends to take him out to the patio more often for
fresh air and natural light. Daniel's brother, Victor,
assesses Daniel's strength and takes him for
extended tours of the hospital grounds outdoors
on Sundays.
Changes that were made to his nutritional diet
resulted in a one pound weight gain. Small but
significant incremental steps. Once he is able to
swallow puree he will definitely put on more
pounds. The physical therapy will keep him flexible
and prevent atrophy.
As most of you know, Daniel has been a strong
supporter of Barack Obama. Margarita had the
television news on when a sound bite of Pres. Obama
making some remarks seemed to catch Daniel's ear.
It appeared that Daniel did a 'double take' to catch
a glimpse of the image of Obama on the screen!

There are thousands of 'blogs' on the Internet dealing
with every imaginable topic under the sun. Recently I
have been reading blogs posted by families of patients
with brain trauma injuries. They are very informative
and consoling in that these families have traveled this
same journey and want to share their experiences of
fear, anguish, adaptation & adjustment, hope and faith.
Each and every family shared stories of dealing with
mindless insurance companies and the inhumanity of
their profit driven policies. Families are forced to move
loved ones from one facility to another at the dictate of
insurance company claims adjustors. An all too real
story of frustration and seemingly endless battles putting
families under more duress in stressful times.
Many of their loved ones were at various stages of coma
or in their second, third, or fourth year of rehabilitation.
Almost all have shared that the first prognosis given by
neurosurgeons was bleak and without hope.
Understandably, doctors are faced with many
unpredictable factors and avoid giving loved ones false
hopes. Those families took the dire prognosis with
mixed emotions and set out in heroic ways to intervene
and give their loved one a fighting chance to return to
some degree of normality.
There is one recurring theme or stream of advice that I
found in all these blogs, the urgent message from
families and the victims of brain trauma:
'Don't give up!', 'Don't quit!'

It has taken some of the patients a year or two or
more to regain consciousness, it has taken another
year or more to regain speech, it has taken a year or
more to learn to walk, .....all those attributes that we
take for granted loom as multiple marathons for
patient and family alike. One young male patient
relates that over the arduous span of three years
many of his friendships fell by the wayside. This
journey has taken it's toll on everyone, but we shall
continue to stand by Daniel.
Take care of one another..... value health.
Sal

For those who have visited Daniel prior to Oct. 13,
you observed a medical condition called decorticate
posturing. Simply, this is involuntary muscle
contractions causing a patient to have arms flexed,
or bent inward on the chest, the hands are clenched
into fists, and the legs extended and feet
turned inward. Another part of the posturing is a
condition called 'opisthotonos' in which the head
and back are arched backward.
All of this is related to brain trauma injury, BTI,
stemming from the aneurysm, bleeding, and the
pressure exerted on the brain back on April 28
and 29 th. Seeing Daniel in this condition
motivated many visitors to inquire as to what
could be done.
Fortunately, there is a procedure to alleviate the
cause and produce remarkable effects with patients
suffering from BTI and other afflictions. The
procedure is called ITB for Intrathecal Baclofen Pump.
Again, to simplify this explanation, a small electronic
pump is surgically placed under the skin below the
belt line in the lower abdomen.
Baclofen is a muscle relaxer and an anti-spastic agent.
Baclofen is used to treat muscle symptoms caused by
multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, including spasm,
pain, and stiffness.
A catheter, small tube, is inserted through the
intrathecal space surrounding the spinal cord,
entering the lower back and inserted upward.
The pump, a 20 or 40 ml reservoir of Baclofen, is
programmed to release small doses to relax his
muscles. The dose is adjusted with radio telemetry,
an application of physics and the science of radio
waves, wireless communications.

Daniel now has the pump, the results in Daniel's case
are reported to be very positive, he is more relaxed
and alert. This procedure was performed Oct. 13th at
Palomar Hospital.
In addition, the registered dietician has increased
Daniel's caloric intake to help him regain weight.
Daniel's tenacious spirit has cleared another hurdle.

All of us are fortunate to live in an age where afflictions
such as decorticate posturning, cerebral palsy, multiple
sclerosis, muscle spasticity, and other neurological
problems are the subjects of intense medical research.
Credit scientific research for this discovery, the
technology of the ITB - Intrathecal Baclofen Pump,
that has brought relief and eliminated much suffering
for tens of thousands of patients. This new threshold
will support further efforts to re-teach Daniel to
swallow, maintain flexibility for physical therapy,
and facilitate improved speech therapy.

As late as the middle ages, and for centuries leading
up to and beyond the 15th century, people with such
afflictions were deemed to be possessed by demons.
Tragically, many were brought before the Holy
Inquisition of the Catholic faith. The afflicted were
subjected to exorcisms. Unable to drive out alleged
demons, the person was tortured along with
heretics, rebels, witches, homosexuals, and pagans.
The fate of all these people was to be burned publicly
at the stake.
Thankfully, the age of reason has prevailed.
Take care of one another,
Sal