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mattking2000 · Oct 13th, 2009, 07:43 PM

http://news.aol.ca/article/woman-wit...rs%2F720285%2F

Woman With Half a Brain Stuns Doctors

Source: By Kelly Marshall and Eric Marrapodi, CNN

Posted: 10/13/09 4:09PM

Filed Under: Science & Tech

FALLS CHURCH, Virginia (Oct. 12) -- Michelle Mack has turned medical thinking upside down.
Born with only half a brain, Mack can speak normally, graduated from high school and has an uncanny knack for dates.

Medical News
Michelle Mack has turned medical thinking upside down.
Born with only half a brain, Mack can speak normally, graduated from high school and has an uncanny knack for dates.
CNN
AP

Medical News

Michelle Mack has turned medical thinking upside down.
Born with only half a brain, Mack can speak normally, graduated from high school and has an uncanny knack for dates.
CNN
Flowers at the gate of Blue Coat Church of England School in Coventry England Tuesday Sept. 29, 2009, after a pupil from the school died Monday after receiving the HPV1 Cervarix jab. Health authorities launched an investigation Tuesday into the death of a 14-year-old girl who had just received a vaccine for cervical cancer. Natalie Morton died in a hospital Monday, a few hours after being the given the Cervarix vaccine, which protects against two strains of the human papilloma virus that causes cervical cancer. She was vaccinated at her school in Coventry in central England.
AP Photo/Rui Vieira/PA
Health officials said Tuesday the batch of vaccine given at the school has been quarantined. A number of other girls at the school reported mild symptoms such as dizziness and nausea after receiving the shot.
Getty Images
Carolyn Savage, 40, is seen at her home, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009, in Sylvania, Ohio. Savage says a fertility clinic implanted the wrong embryo and that the baby she is about to give birth to is not hers. She and her husband are prepared to give the boy to his biological parents, whom they have met.
AP Photo/J.D. Pooley
Professor Karim Nayernia, is seen at Newcastle University and the NorthEast England Stem Cell Institute (Nesci), in Newcastle, England, Wednesday, July 8, 2009. British scientists claimed Wednesday to have created human sperm from stem cells but other experts questioned their data. Researchers at Newcastle University and the NorthEast England Stem Cell Institute say they used a new technique to derive what they described as sperm cells from embryonic stem cells. Stem cells have the potential to become any cell in the body. Newcastle research leader Karim Nayernia said in a statement Wednesday that the technique would allow researchers to study how sperm develops and possibly help develop treatments for infertile men.
AP Photo/Scott Heppell
A woman who gave birth in a Wal-Mart washroom in Prince Albert, Sask., and left the baby behind has been found not guilty of child abandonment, a judge has ruled. Queen's Bench Justice Neil Gabrielson released his decision Wednesday, June 24, in the case of April Dawn Halkett, 22. He said the Crown didn't prove its case. During her judge-alone trial in May, Halkett testified that she did not realize she was pregnant when she went to use the store's washroom during a shopping trip in May 2007.
CBC News
Jennifer Schofield was just 11 days old when she died in November 2006 of multiple organ failure caused by the herpes simplex virus. The newborn was infected by her mother, Ruth Schofield, either through kisses or breastfeeding. "The hardest thing any woman can do is watch her baby die," Schofield told the BBC on Friday.
Manchester Evening News
Schofield, a 35-year-old hairdresser, is campaigning to make other mothers aware of the symptoms of the herpes virus and the dangers it poses to newborn babies. Doctors did not realize Jennifer had the virus until an autopsy was conducted. "She should be here today. It's such a treatable disease. I didn't know what I had," Schofield told the BBC. "It broke my heart to know what she died of." (Sources: BBC, Daily Mail)
Darren Andrews, Manchester Evening News
An inquest in Lancaster, northeastern England, heard that Schofield probably contracted the virus late in her pregnancy. Although she saw her doctor, the virus -- a common cause of cold sores -- is difficult to detect and Schofield had no idea she had it. "If I had known I was suffering from HSV and the risks of being near a newborn baby, then Jennifer could be here today," Schofield said, according to the Daily Mail.
Manchester Evening News
Thomas Beatie, a transgendered man, gave birth to his second child, a son, Tuesday. Here he appears his wife Nancy, left, and daughter Susan Juliette on a German TV show in December. Susan Juliette was born last June.
AP Photo

At 27, doctors determined that the right side of her brain had essentially rewired itself to make up for function that was likely lost during a pre-birth stroke. But her childhood and young adult years were fraught with frustration.
"It was very hard for me," Mack said. "It was very hard for me growing up. No one knew the truth about my brain."
Mack's parents, Carol and Wally, realized shortly after her birth that something was wrong.
"There wasn't a group to turn to," said Carol Mack. "Michelle didn't have cerebral palsy, I knew that. She didn't have Down's syndrome, I knew that. I had no place to turn."

Ten years ago, Dr. Jordan Grafman, chief of the Cognitive Neuroscience Section at the National Institutes of Health, finally diagnosed the problem.
An MRI scan revealed she was missing nearly all the left side of her brain. While it was clear Mack has some problems, Grafman said he and the family were shocked by the extent of the damage.
"We were surprised to see the extent of the lesion in her brain, which basically took away the left side of her brain," said Grafman. "There's some very deep structures remaining, but the surface of her brain, the cortex is 95 percent gone and some of the deeper structures, structures that control movement, are missing. These are all structures that are important for movement, behavior, cognition."
The only answer, Grafman said, was that Mack's brain has rewired itself. The remaining half took over some of the essential functions that are normally done by the left, such as speaking and reading. That rewiring, however, came at a cost.
"Michelle has fairly normal language abilities, certainly basic language abilities, she can construct a sentence, she can understand instructions, she can find words when she's talking, but actually she has some trouble in some aspects of visual-spatial processing," said Grafman.
"It's quite possible that in her learning, in her development, when the right hemisphere either took over or developed some of the language abilities that it cost her in some of the skills that are normally mediated by the right side of the brain," added Grafman.

In the 10 years since Grafman first diagnosed Mack, she has seen some intellectual functions improve, the doctor said. Recovery has not been perfect, however. Mack still struggles with abstract concepts and becomes easily lost in unfamiliar surroundings.
The diagnosis explained why Mack had experienced a lifetime of difficulty controlling her emotions. "He's helped us understand the reason why I tend to throw fits, temper tantrums," she said. "It was because I was missing half my brain."
Mack will always have some problems, but dad Wally Mack said that Grafman's diagnosis and treatment answered a lot of questions and gave him hope.
"Dr. Grafman explained that the right hemisphere is taking over, and it might take her a little while longer to get there with all the rewiring that has to take place," he said. "But that told us all these bad days are behind us and there are nothing but good days ahead."
Michelle Mack is now 37 and lives with her mother and father. She works from home doing data entry for her church. She is fairly independent, pays rent and can do most household chores. She realizes she'll need help for the rest of her life but wanted to tell her story to make it clear that she is not helpless.
"I wanted to do this so people like producers, photographers and security guards and police officers learn about people like me," she said, "that I'm normal but have special needs, and that there are a lot people like me, so that they could be more understanding."
CNN's Campbell Brown contributed to this report.

Such a big contrast to the woman wanting her disability money back...

yeliab · Oct 14th, 2009, 02:31 AM

What a fantastic story! I'm so glad she's doing so well!! Proof that the human brain can do miraculous things!

Sternchen · Oct 14th, 2009, 05:41 AM

That's absolutely amazing!

Jahpson · Oct 14th, 2009, 08:25 AM

undoutable proof that obtaining a high school diploma is possible for everyone!! Great news

~Fabulousity~ · Oct 14th, 2009, 09:32 AM

amazing!

everything posh · Oct 14th, 2009, 11:28 AM

amazing!

bagaholic85 · Oct 14th, 2009, 12:46 PM

what a heart warming story. the only question i have is why it took 17 years for them to give her an mri?!

babieejae1101 · Oct 14th, 2009, 10:45 PM

Amazing story. Thanks for posting it.

madamefifi · Oct 15th, 2009, 11:22 PM

So it can be done!

*must tell stepsons*

I just finished reading Columbine by David Cullen. It's about, obviously, the school shootings at Columbine High School. One of the victims was shot in the head but survived, and doctors didn't think he would ever be able to move the right side of his body or to speak normally again, but he actually graduated as valedictorian and has a successful career in (I think) banking. His brain just found new pathways around the damaged areas. Happens with certain types of stroke, too.

BlackApple · Oct 15th, 2009, 11:25 PM

Interesting stuff indeed. Really had no idea you could really function with half a brain because both hemispheres are so important to daily function. It's so amazing how the human brain works and how well it compensates with neurons continuing to look for pathways.

flashy.stems · Oct 16th, 2009, 01:47 AM

super amazing.. its baffling how our brains work. good for her!

Jahpson · Oct 16th, 2009, 09:34 AM

Originally Posted by madamefifi

So it can be done!

*must tell stepsons*

I just finished reading Columbine by David Cullen. It's about, obviously, the school shootings at Columbine High School. One of the victims was shot in the head but survived, and doctors didn't think he would ever be able to move the right side of his body or to speak normally again, but he actually graduated as valedictorian and has a successful career in (I think) banking. His brain just found new pathways around the damaged areas. Happens with certain types of stroke, too.

absolutely amazing how the brain works

Divyaangana · Oct 16th, 2009, 09:50 AM

Good for her!

I went to high school with a girl who had had half her brain removed (due to cancer). She graduated and went on to college. Last I heard she was actually thinking of going to medical school.

Just proves how amazing our brains are and what we can do when we put our minds to something.

karmenzsofia · Oct 16th, 2009, 02:36 PM

Amazing!

LV-PRADAfanatic · Oct 16th, 2009, 10:42 PM

love the story...

Oct 13th, 2009, 07:43 PM	#1
mattking2000 OP High school H addict Joined: Jul 2008 Location: T.O Posts: 703	Woman with half a brain graduates from high school http://news.aol.ca/article/woman-wit...rs%2F720285%2F Woman With Half a Brain Stuns Doctors Source: By Kelly Marshall and Eric Marrapodi, CNN Posted: 10/13/09 4:09PM Filed Under: Science & Tech FALLS CHURCH, Virginia (Oct. 12) -- Michelle Mack has turned medical thinking upside down. Born with only half a brain, Mack can speak normally, graduated from high school and has an uncanny knack for dates. Medical News Michelle Mack has turned medical thinking upside down. Born with only half a brain, Mack can speak normally, graduated from high school and has an uncanny knack for dates. CNN AP Medical News Michelle Mack has turned medical thinking upside down. Born with only half a brain, Mack can speak normally, graduated from high school and has an uncanny knack for dates. CNN Flowers at the gate of Blue Coat Church of England School in Coventry England Tuesday Sept. 29, 2009, after a pupil from the school died Monday after receiving the HPV1 Cervarix jab. Health authorities launched an investigation Tuesday into the death of a 14-year-old girl who had just received a vaccine for cervical cancer. Natalie Morton died in a hospital Monday, a few hours after being the given the Cervarix vaccine, which protects against two strains of the human papilloma virus that causes cervical cancer. She was vaccinated at her school in Coventry in central England. AP Photo/Rui Vieira/PA Health officials said Tuesday the batch of vaccine given at the school has been quarantined. A number of other girls at the school reported mild symptoms such as dizziness and nausea after receiving the shot. Getty Images Carolyn Savage, 40, is seen at her home, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009, in Sylvania, Ohio. Savage says a fertility clinic implanted the wrong embryo and that the baby she is about to give birth to is not hers. She and her husband are prepared to give the boy to his biological parents, whom they have met. AP Photo/J.D. Pooley Professor Karim Nayernia, is seen at Newcastle University and the NorthEast England Stem Cell Institute (Nesci), in Newcastle, England, Wednesday, July 8, 2009. British scientists claimed Wednesday to have created human sperm from stem cells but other experts questioned their data. Researchers at Newcastle University and the NorthEast England Stem Cell Institute say they used a new technique to derive what they described as sperm cells from embryonic stem cells. Stem cells have the potential to become any cell in the body. Newcastle research leader Karim Nayernia said in a statement Wednesday that the technique would allow researchers to study how sperm develops and possibly help develop treatments for infertile men. AP Photo/Scott Heppell A woman who gave birth in a Wal-Mart washroom in Prince Albert, Sask., and left the baby behind has been found not guilty of child abandonment, a judge has ruled. Queen's Bench Justice Neil Gabrielson released his decision Wednesday, June 24, in the case of April Dawn Halkett, 22. He said the Crown didn't prove its case. During her judge-alone trial in May, Halkett testified that she did not realize she was pregnant when she went to use the store's washroom during a shopping trip in May 2007. CBC News Jennifer Schofield was just 11 days old when she died in November 2006 of multiple organ failure caused by the herpes simplex virus. The newborn was infected by her mother, Ruth Schofield, either through kisses or breastfeeding. "The hardest thing any woman can do is watch her baby die," Schofield told the BBC on Friday. Manchester Evening News Schofield, a 35-year-old hairdresser, is campaigning to make other mothers aware of the symptoms of the herpes virus and the dangers it poses to newborn babies. Doctors did not realize Jennifer had the virus until an autopsy was conducted. "She should be here today. It's such a treatable disease. I didn't know what I had," Schofield told the BBC. "It broke my heart to know what she died of." (Sources: BBC, Daily Mail) Darren Andrews, Manchester Evening News An inquest in Lancaster, northeastern England, heard that Schofield probably contracted the virus late in her pregnancy. Although she saw her doctor, the virus -- a common cause of cold sores -- is difficult to detect and Schofield had no idea she had it. "If I had known I was suffering from HSV and the risks of being near a newborn baby, then Jennifer could be here today," Schofield said, according to the Daily Mail. Manchester Evening News Thomas Beatie, a transgendered man, gave birth to his second child, a son, Tuesday. Here he appears his wife Nancy, left, and daughter Susan Juliette on a German TV show in December. Susan Juliette was born last June. AP Photo At 27, doctors determined that the right side of her brain had essentially rewired itself to make up for function that was likely lost during a pre-birth stroke. But her childhood and young adult years were fraught with frustration. "It was very hard for me," Mack said. "It was very hard for me growing up. No one knew the truth about my brain." Mack's parents, Carol and Wally, realized shortly after her birth that something was wrong. "There wasn't a group to turn to," said Carol Mack. "Michelle didn't have cerebral palsy, I knew that. She didn't have Down's syndrome, I knew that. I had no place to turn." Ten years ago, Dr. Jordan Grafman, chief of the Cognitive Neuroscience Section at the National Institutes of Health, finally diagnosed the problem. An MRI scan revealed she was missing nearly all the left side of her brain. While it was clear Mack has some problems, Grafman said he and the family were shocked by the extent of the damage. "We were surprised to see the extent of the lesion in her brain, which basically took away the left side of her brain," said Grafman. "There's some very deep structures remaining, but the surface of her brain, the cortex is 95 percent gone and some of the deeper structures, structures that control movement, are missing. These are all structures that are important for movement, behavior, cognition." The only answer, Grafman said, was that Mack's brain has rewired itself. The remaining half took over some of the essential functions that are normally done by the left, such as speaking and reading. That rewiring, however, came at a cost. "Michelle has fairly normal language abilities, certainly basic language abilities, she can construct a sentence, she can understand instructions, she can find words when she's talking, but actually she has some trouble in some aspects of visual-spatial processing," said Grafman. "It's quite possible that in her learning, in her development, when the right hemisphere either took over or developed some of the language abilities that it cost her in some of the skills that are normally mediated by the right side of the brain," added Grafman. In the 10 years since Grafman first diagnosed Mack, she has seen some intellectual functions improve, the doctor said. Recovery has not been perfect, however. Mack still struggles with abstract concepts and becomes easily lost in unfamiliar surroundings. The diagnosis explained why Mack had experienced a lifetime of difficulty controlling her emotions. "He's helped us understand the reason why I tend to throw fits, temper tantrums," she said. "It was because I was missing half my brain." Mack will always have some problems, but dad Wally Mack said that Grafman's diagnosis and treatment answered a lot of questions and gave him hope. "Dr. Grafman explained that the right hemisphere is taking over, and it might take her a little while longer to get there with all the rewiring that has to take place," he said. "But that told us all these bad days are behind us and there are nothing but good days ahead." Michelle Mack is now 37 and lives with her mother and father. She works from home doing data entry for her church. She is fairly independent, pays rent and can do most household chores. She realizes she'll need help for the rest of her life but wanted to tell her story to make it clear that she is not helpless. "I wanted to do this so people like producers, photographers and security guards and police officers learn about people like me," she said, "that I'm normal but have special needs, and that there are a lot people like me, so that they could be more understanding." CNN's Campbell Brown contributed to this report. Such a big contrast to the woman wanting her disability money back...
	__________________ If your local H has small leather goods on sale (particularly the agendas...), please lend me your SA's info if you don't mind sharing, or help me keep an eye out for something! Thanks! =) Currently looking for: Globetrotter ziparound in orange (or any other color) on sale or used .. Please pm me if you've seen one. Thanks! Once you go orange.... dangit. nothing rhymes with orange.

Oct 14th, 2009, 02:31 AM	#2
yeliab Luxury = Purses Joined: Jul 2009 Posts: 2,025	What a fantastic story! I'm so glad she's doing so well!! Proof that the human brain can do miraculous things!
yeliab Luxury = Purses Joined: Jul 2009 Posts: 2,025	__________________ Got a Fortune Cookie that said: "You will be surrounded by Luxury"

Oct 14th, 2009, 05:41 AM	#3
Sternchen Proud mama of 3! Joined: May 2006 Location: Bavaria, Germany Posts: 13,940	That's absolutely amazing!
	__________________ Dear Santa, I have been a very good girl this year and have worked very hard for my family, my school and my job. This year I would like to wish for only one thing: THE CUPCAKE CAR!!! Please and thank you. Love, Melanie

Oct 14th, 2009, 08:25 AM	#4
Jahpson Member Joined: Aug 2007 Location: The Playground Posts: 22,347	undoutable proof that obtaining a high school diploma is possible for everyone!! Great news
	__________________ Michael Joseph Jackson 1958-2009

Oct 14th, 2009, 09:32 AM	#5
~Fabulousity~ Member Joined: Jan 2006 Posts: 12,911	amazing!
~Fabulousity~ Member Joined: Jan 2006 Posts: 12,911

Oct 14th, 2009, 11:28 AM	#6
everything posh Member Joined: Jan 2007 Location: Chicago, Athens, London, San Jose!! Posts: 1,659	amazing!
	__________________

Oct 14th, 2009, 12:46 PM	#7
bagaholic85 Member Joined: Sep 2007 Location: i <3 ny Posts: 5,084	what a heart warming story. the only question i have is why it took 17 years for them to give her an mri?!

Oct 14th, 2009, 10:45 PM	#8
babieejae1101 Banned from shopping Joined: Nov 2006 Location: The middle of the desert, AZ Posts: 1,012	Amazing story. Thanks for posting it.

Oct 15th, 2009, 11:22 PM	#9
madamefifi cat hoarder Joined: Aug 2006 Location: virginia Posts: 4,020	So it can be done! must tell stepsons I just finished reading Columbine by David Cullen. It's about, obviously, the school shootings at Columbine High School. One of the victims was shot in the head but survived, and doctors didn't think he would ever be able to move the right side of his body or to speak normally again, but he actually graduated as valedictorian and has a successful career in (I think) banking. His brain just found new pathways around the damaged areas. Happens with certain types of stroke, too.
	__________________ Since each of us is blessed with only one life, why not live it with a cat? --Robert Stearns Or 10! --Mme Fifi join me at goodreads! http://www.goodreads.com/madamefifi

Oct 15th, 2009, 11:25 PM	#10
BlackApple Coached Out Joined: Mar 2009 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 333	Interesting stuff indeed. Really had no idea you could really function with half a brain because both hemispheres are so important to daily function. It's so amazing how the human brain works and how well it compensates with neurons continuing to look for pathways.
	__________________ Everyone needs a bit of legacy in their life! Currently hunting for 06/07 legacy pieces

Oct 16th, 2009, 01:47 AM	#11
flashy.stems Hermès Hottie Joined: Jun 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 2,006	super amazing.. its baffling how our brains work. good for her!
	__________________ “I’m the worst wife in the cooking department. I always thought you can’t be good at food and sex, but you can always order the food in. I’d rather he didn’t order in the sex.” "You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too many handbags." UHG!!! CL Black Mad Mary 37

Oct 16th, 2009, 09:50 AM	#13
Divyaangana ♥♥♥♥♥ Joined: Nov 2006 Location: Where ever my heart takes me.... Posts: 1,539	Good for her! I went to high school with a girl who had had half her brain removed (due to cancer). She graduated and went on to college. Last I heard she was actually thinking of going to medical school. Just proves how amazing our brains are and what we can do when we put our minds to something.
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Oct 16th, 2009, 02:36 PM	#14
karmenzsofia Life is Plan Z Joined: Jun 2008 Location: Tarot Card Posts: 14,879	Amazing!
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Oct 16th, 2009, 10:42 PM	#15
LV-PRADAfanatic Built Hot for LV Joined: Oct 2007 Location: That's ME ^_^ Posts: 14,671	love the story...
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