Brain On Fire : The Story Of Brain On Fire By Susannah Cahalan

This author’s personal perceptions concerning patients facing a lingering terminal illness, have been shaped by over 20 years of critical care nursing experience. Facing death and illness on a daily basis requires self-examination and a high degree of comfort with one’s own mortality, limits and values. Constant exposure to the fragility of life forces respect for the whole person and the people who love them. A general approach to patients who are actively dying is to allow them to define what they want and need during this time. The nurse’s role

In school, at the stores, anywhere, there are two types of people that can be encountered. What makes these two types of people different is their mindsets. One type has the mindset of a pessimist; they think they cannot do certain tasks and are afraid of looking stupid. The other type has the mindset of an optimist; they always try new things and are not scared to do so. In the article “Brainology” by Carol S. Dweck, she states that there are two different mindsets that people can possess, either a fixed mindset (pessimist) or a growth mindset (optimist); these mindsets are developed at a young age and will influence a person’s choices and opportunities.

patients often think what will happen to them and how are they going to get through this horrible

I. Imagine yourself or a loved one just diagnosed with a terminal debilitating illness. You are given at best six months to live. During those six months your prognosis will turn from bad to worse. You know you will eventually be in an uncontrollable amount of persistent pain. You will eventually lose the ability to feed, dress, or bathe and toilet yourself. Your once very active life will become one

Part One: In the documentary "Being Mortal" by Atul Gawande talks about the death of patients and how it 's a surprise to a large amount of the patients. He also explains the fear in the medical field, and as a doctor your suppose to help people and cure them, that you 're supposed to give them a better shot and if it later doesn 't go they way you expected,the doctors start to tell themselves what went wrong or what happen everything was going so well. Gawande talks about how he wants to learn more about how to communicate with patients and telling them that they have a certain weeks, days or months left. For example, He talks about one of his patients that he had, her name was Sarah and had stage 4 lung cancer was young and just had a

In “Bacteria on the Brain” By Emily Eakin, she writes about the ethics surrounding a doctor who attempts to save the lives of patients with brain tumors by using his own alternative methods. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the author writes about Victor and his creature’s attempts to expand science, and answer moral questions concerning life and death. Regarding the substance of the article, Neurosurgeon Dr. Paul Muizelaar and his controversial treatment of three patients suffering from terminal brain cancer engenders serious ethical debate. On one hand, Muizelaar epitomizes a man of brilliance and ingenuity, driven by the desire to correct his patients’ otherwise hopeless situations. On the other hand, a man filled with hubris who discounted the risks in his pursuit of success. Given the evidence present in the text of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley would contend that Muizelaar’s actions were innovative and driven by his desire to save the lives of his patients.

Within the more advanced stages the individual will commonly suffer from incontinence, limited mobility and limited communication usually the individual will not be able to use sentences just limited words. Other symptoms that worsen similar to those with a terminal illness are:

Image yourself laying in a hospital bed with a terminal illness that has taken over your whole body slowly. You are in a room that has nothing in it but the bed, a bathroom, and maybe a dresser if you are lucky for your belongings. This room is nothing like yours at home. The walls are very depressing with no pictures of family that bring back the amazing memories you’ve shared in the past. The furniture in the room is not that special chair that your great grandmother gave you that you have had for years, but is a chair that many strangers have sat in. You are hooked up to many loud machines. Nurses and doctors constantly coming in to record your vitals and give you your medication. You can no longer eat on your own, or use the restroom on

Learning to create music or a speech spontaneously is not an easy task. Any professional musician will say that improvisation is not as easy as just making it up as one goes along. In fact, the musicians that make improvisation look simple are the ones who have put in countless hours of time and study to make it look effortless. The Improvisational Brain by Amanda Martinez tells about a neuroscientist that studied the science behind how the brain works in order to improvise. In order to be able to be a good improviser, one must learn to shut down the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and let the creativity and skill take over. What about those that have limited ability? Should they learn to improvise as well? One would argue that it is not important to learn to improvise, whether it be music or otherwise. However, improvising can give a person a sense of freedom from the ordinary. “This notion of trying to tell your own story, without the constraints of caring how well it’s going as you’re saying it, was really pretty intriguing” (Martinez p. 7). Although many struggle being able to shut down the part of your brain that allows one to improvise, it is important to teach children and adults alike how to improvise because it teaches creativity, divergent thinking, and encourages better communication skills.

At my death bed I would like to wish that no one should face such a disease. I feel so restless

Our society finds it difficult to talk about dying and euphemisms are the norm. It is typical for both doctors and patients to be hesitant to initiate a discussion on dying. Focus instead is often more often placed on interventions and actions for managing symptoms. This avoidance can leave patients and their families unprepared for the inevitable death. (Schapira, 2010) It also often results in requests for therapies which may be excessive, costly and even painful in the hopes for a cure. One study demonstrates that when patients are aware that they are terminally ill, the majority are able to reach a state of peacefulness and also exhibit lower levels of distress. (Ray, Block, Friedlander, Zhang, Maciejewski & Prigerson, 2006) It is also important that family members are willing to discuss end-of-life options with their loved ones. According to elderly patients, they are most often the ones who initiate these conversations with their

The book “Neuromancer” was written in 1984 and it has blown away the thought barriers with the author’s technology implementation. It was written by a well-known author that goes by the name of William Gibson. In the book we find ourselves in a futuristic Japan where arcades, hacking, drugs, sex, violence, splicing, and technology has taken over. This is not the Japan we know today, or is it?

laying in this hospital bed for over 50 days with Blood clots on my lungs, blood clots in both right and left legs, infections traveling throughout my body, skin ripping apart with every move I make, there no medicine the doctor's could give me that can control all the pain flashbacks of my life came before my eye .......... Trying to fit in almost killed me!

I am Fire Dream. You may have heard of me, but if you haven’t, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am an incredible superhero. I live in a busy city(Washington D.C.). I am a superhero, but also a regular person. When I am a regular person people don’t know that I am actually Fire Dream. My real name is Elizabeth Hart and only my close friends know my identity(so don’t tell anyone). My friends ask me if it is hard to hide my true identity, but all I have to do is look a little different and no one will notice. I have lots of super powers, but some of my favorites are Flying, Super speed, invisibility, super strength and I can make objects move. My job is writing stories about the latest news of superheroes, so I enjoy going

What if I had chosen to keep speeding instead of slowing down when the police car came into view? This is a question I would not dare test myself, but it is an undeniable fact that as humans, we tend to ask ourselves that question every day. It may not pertain to a significant matter, in which case the answer becomes irrelevant. Sometimes, the “what if” question demands significant consideration, because of the possible ramifications it may have on your life. In Brain on Fire, by Susannah Cahalan, Susannah writes about the month and time thereafter in which she was diagnosed with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. Susannah was fortunate have been diagnosed with that illness and I say that with a grain of salt. What if Susannah had not been accurately diagnosed? Had Susannah being diagnosed with schizophrenia, she might not even be alive today. Stepping away from that idea, though, let us assume she did live. If Susannah had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, her life would have never returned to normal. Understanding the importance of correctly diagnosing and treating diseases not yet well documented, having the necessary knowledge of NMDA receptors, and overcoming the stigma on mental illness are all keys to providing care and for patients to recover.