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Living with half a brain (Hemispherectomies)

newyorker.com — Lacy suffers from a rare malformation of the brain, known as hemimegalencephaly, in which one hemisphere grows larger than the other. The condition causes seizures, and Lacy was having so many —up to forty in a day—that, at an age when other toddlers were trying out sentences, she could produce only a few language-like sounds.

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  • silvertrigger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19having experienced what it's like when one of your children has a seizure, I can't imagine what the parents and Lacy must have been through. I wish her all the best and that the meds will help in the recovery.
  • mrmatchgame, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Digg for more awareness on Hemispherectomies
  • EmileVictor, on 10/12/2007, -9/+3I wonder what life _after_ the operation will be like for her.

    No, I didn't RTFA. It was TL-DR.
    • TokenUser, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Scroll to the bottom - and read the last couple of paragraphs. It is a fascinating story.
  • loftwyr, on 10/12/2007, -17/+0Insert obligatory joke about GWB or other politician having haalf a brain and doing fine here...
    • Darmichar, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Insert 'You're a pompous inconsiderate ass.' comment here.
    • mattb5, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Yeah, I've got half a mind to kick your @55!!! heeheehee
  • TonyEberly, on 10/12/2007, -12/+0No pics? Too much to read.
  • ChoKoth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Big Diggs! Excellent, and slightly freghtening, article. The idea that they are still not entirely sure what the net results could be in development bothers me, but there seems to be quite a bit of presidence for these children moving on to become productive, useful members fo society.

    Makes me think that the old diagrams that we saw in school that layed out where different functions are controlled in the brain aren't quite accurate. Or I suppose it's more likely that the brain is more flexible than we are led to believe growing up.
    • elnerdo, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2No, that's what's scary. The brain is NOT that flexible. She will probably be a very, very, VERY weird person. Have you ever talked to someone who's had a Frontal Lobotomy? It's VERY obvious that they've had it. A Hemispherectomy is even MORE of your brain being taken away than a lobotomy. She'll probably never become a productive member of society.
    • ChoKoth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I'm assuming you haven't read the article. While it's obvious something has happened to the person, that doesn't keep them from being prductive. The article mentions several other people that have had the proceedure that have gone on to be fairly normal kids, graduating high school, and going to college, even making the dean's list. Obviously it's a big ordeal for them, but evidently the brain, atleast at that young an age, is able to compensate to some extent. These people don't end up as vegtables in constant need of care.

      To my mind what this article really showcases is the body's amazing ability to recover from outragously grevious proceedures.
  • Rigbymatt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1wow you would think the brain would flip out but no the rest just takes over. impressive
  • bhowell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Interesting article.. I didn't know it was possible to lead a normal life with half of your brain removed.

    The beginning of the article focuses more on the operation and its history. Read the last two sections of the article if you're interested in how people who've had the operation live.
  • Darkness123, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4This is why I LOVE Science over Religion.
    Science: We will remove the part of the brain which causes her these problems.
    Religion: We won't do nothing, we will let God do the work.

    They are going to remove half her brain. I would never EVER want to make a decision like that. It's not like removing a leg or arm. 1 small mistake and she is dead.
    My best wishes to the family.
    • printenv, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Your comment is rather biased, why, I am not sure. But I am not going to try and figure out your reason why you dislike religion so. My entire family on my mom's side consists of Dr's and nurses. I am the odd one out in computer science. They are all religious. They will all say that sitting there doing nothing and "letting God do all the work" is asinine. Also, just so you know, Christian Scientists are the ones that have the "reading rooms" where they sit and wait for God to heal them or whoever. The the majority of the other major religions (Christians, Muslims, etc.) don't as an outstanding tenant of their theology that disregard all science (and medicine) and actually put a lot of stock in science and its validity.
  • yttrx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Dugg because finally there's a link to a New Yorker article.
  • ErrandboyOfDoom, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Enter interesting questions in identity theory:

    We can pull out half a brain and leave someone with essentially the same identity as before. And as it turns out, it doesn't matter much which half we take. So what happens when (through some miracle of technology) we pull out two halves and put them in separate bodies?

    You remember your old friend Joe? Meet Joe1 and Joe2.
  • toastgodsupreme, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Wow, for the reporter to actually have stayed and watched. I couldn't do that. I would've probably gotten sick at the first cut.
  • Astronutty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I read about a posting from b0wl0fud0n 's google search about a little girl named Kaitlyn. What a sweet child with a heartbreaking start, but is now doing fine! http://www.cv.quik.com.au/hmegroup/Aust/Kaitlynhistory.htm
  • FarcePest, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2 Does she like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain?
  • EBone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Amazing story. And for the person above who commented on the frontal lobotomy, that is a completely different procedure. Yes, if you remove the frontal lobes from both hemispheres, you lose much of your cognitive functions. But if you leave the frontal lobe of one of the hemispheres intact, as is evidenced by the article, the remaining side can take over may of the functions.

    Truly makes you belive that we only utilize about 15% of our brains. You can remove 50% and still be effective.
  • beammeup4, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1wow, amazing story, and it shows how far we've advanced in our knowledge of the human body. I always had the notion that the brain is so fragile that even something like touching the brain, or let alone exposing it to air would cause damage, but that has definitely changed.

    one thing I wished after reading the story was knowing how it ended! I hope Christine Kenneally writes the conclusion, and that it turns out to be a very happy ending that will be well dugg on the internet.
  • yahoofrom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1you cut out your left hemisphere, and you can remember your past and can talk.
    you cut out your right hemisphere, and you can again remember your past and can talk.
    Well then, you split your brain into left and right hemispheres and then move the two hemispheres to other bodies. Then you become two persons. Both persons remember your past. Which is you?
  • TomP, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1read 1/4 of the page... scary
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