Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/244291
Stephanie Sparks felt agitated. Her hospital room had no phone, no TV. Some guy kept telling her what day it was every time he saw her. And other people would ask her to do things over and over: Pick up this spoon. Create this sound. It didn't make any sense to her. But not much did. In reality, Sparks doesn't remember any of those first few days in Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital, where she ended up after an 800-pound ATV she was riding slipped on a hill and rolled on top of her, its powerful blow shearing the connective nerve fibers in her brain. But the scenario describes what the Spalding team, renowned for its work with such severe brain injuries, does as it begins the long yet life-altering path toward recovery. "They used to think that once the brain cells died, they were lost, and you could never recover from whatever damage was done," says Joan Birchfield, a speech language pathologist and part of Spalding's interdisciplinary team. Now doctors know about brain neuroplasticity, or the ability of the brain to change and regenerate, taking over functions for those lost connections. And that requires the gentle yet persistent, correct-use therapies used at Spalding to bring patients back. Quiet Awakening When Sparks, 48, first arrived at the rehabilitation hospital, she was highly disoriented and unable to move on her own. The Aurora mom had already spent a month, much of it in a coma, fighting for her life in intensive care at The Medical Center of Aurora. Patients with such severe injury start their Spalding recovery in a controlled stimulation unit (reduced noise, no phone/TV) to support brain healing. Therapy begins slowly, as patients are still "waking up." "Confusion and agitation are common, says Dr. Jim Nguyen, a clinical team psychologist. "A lot of times, people don't really know what's going on with them. They may not know what the date is; they might not even know who they are," he says, adding that Sparks, a director with Spalding's parent HealthONE company, had no memory of the accident, but kept thinking she was at work, trying to direct the staff on what to do. "Because their memory is impaired, they start to make up pieces to fill in the blanks," Nguyen says. His job is to gently correct her so that she doesn't permanently believe her confabulations, impairing brain recovery, he says, explaining the "errorless-learning" method used at Spalding. Pump It Up Therapists Offer Tips For Keeping Brain Cells Firing Think hand-eye coordination Tennis, video games, playing an instrument: They all help keep those connections strong. Read It's great for honing memory and language skills. Do puzzles And shake it up with both word and number puzzles, whether on computer or paper, to work both sides of the brain. Focus on variety Brush your teeth with the wrong hand. Take a different route home. Volunteer Helping out offers new experiences and builds happy brains. Play challenging games Cribbage or Scrabble anyone? Teach an old dog new tricks Piano, Chinese, woodworking: Learning anything new helps keep those neurons sharp. Avoid the couch Science shows active lifestyles nourish the ol' noggin. Left: Stephanie Sparks holds the helmet she was wearing during an ATV accident that left her with a severe brain injury despite the protective gear. Above: Part of the Interdisciplinary team at Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital who helped with the Aurora mother's rehabilitation, from left to right, include Joan Birchfield, CCC/SLP, Adam Hoyle, DPT, Karen Hookstadt, OTR and Dr. Jim Nguyen. Stay healthy Chronic disease (diabetes, high cholesterol) can also sabotage brain health. Health and Wellness Magazine • 53