Baen update

[editrx]

No real news from North Carolina: Jim Baen remains in a coma, though we have reports from the hospital staff via Toni and Marla that he is resting comfortably and shows no signs of being in pain. The coma is persistent

Comments

[editrx]

The problem is where the damage is located, as I keep posting. There is major damage to the thalmus, which controls consciousness. The doctors are "not hopeful" (read that as you will) that he can gain any consciousness, and that damage is neither reversible nor can the brain rewire that sort of working. When the thalmus stops working properly, you don't wake up. Hence everyone's concern that he can't wake no matter how long we wait. This was a bleed, though of course the bleeding has long been stopped with blood thinners now. But the damage was done.

Bleed?

[anonymous]

though of course the bleeding has long been stopped with blood thinners now

You don't stop bleeding with blood thinners. They'd make bleeding worse.

Do you have positive information that it was a bleed rather than a blockage, btw? The fact it is bilateral doesn't mean it was a bleed, since much of the thalamus is irrigated by a single centrally located artery, the basilar artery, which runs up the front of the brainstem. Blockage high on the basilar artery would take out much of the thalamus, bilaterally (depending on how much circulation could be redirected back through the Circle of Willis, the redundant arterial system connecting the anterior and posterior parts of the brain.)

Re: Bleed?

[editrx]

The clot(s) were contained and being dissolved (so to speak, though of course "dissolved" isn't the medical term, as I well know) by Heparin plus the Coumadin being administered along with his other IV fluids. I misspoke, of course. There was evidence of multiple strokes, as I said in other posts. Please go back and read. Yes, I have positive information that the major stroke as he entered the hospital was a bleed, but no, I'm not going to discuss it here; the details are not something I'm discussing here, as I've said quite clearly in my posts. The thalmus has been compromised in a major fashion; again, if you want to believe me, you may. If you don't, then don't bother to read further or post here anonymously. I'm not here to give EEG or scan results, even if I know them -- that's far more information than the fannish public needs to know about a very private man. I am giving out information that is for public consumption only, for those people like you who, say, post to my journal anonymously. Why? Because the rumor mill is already

Re: Bleed?

[anonymous]

Thanks!

Re: Bleed?

[anonymous]

Oh, and sorry about the anonymous post. I don't have my LJ password here.

This is all such a shame.

-- Paul Dietz

Re: Bleed?

[editrx]

Hey, Paul. I haven't seen you here before, though of course I recognize your name from Baen readers -- and from your own posts on the Net in all sorts of places, especially re technology. Yes, it is such a shame. It's sad and awful. The one bright point in it all is knowing the Jim is a man who would never want to grow stupid and drooling and be a "burden" to anyone. He's far too stubborn for that. :-) If one has to go, this ain't a bad way. Going at all is awful, but unfortunately it's a requirement of all life forms that we have to exit at some point in time. I hate it, and rail against it, but there it is

bilateral damage to thalamus

[editrx]

By the way, I hate to use analogies, as they're usually useless when discussing a medical case, but the most famous case of bilateral damage to the thalamus was Karen Ann Quinlan. When one damages the thalamus bilaterally, by lesions, accident, stroke, etc., it has the possibility of being a large enough event to essentially eradicate function of the ILN (intralaminar nuclei) of the thalamus, which is, as far as anyone can tell these days, governs consciousness -- without them, the body functions only on automatic cortical processes. I'm not saying Jim is Karen Ann -- that's a silly analogy as the events are very different; but the damage is similar in that it was a bilateral damaging event to the thalamus, and it was a large event.

(By the way, there is a pretty good concise overview of the function of the thalamus and consciousness at the WikiBooks, Consciousness Studies: Neuroscience 1.)

[editrx]

I should note that I was in a coma for three days once. But it was from damage from food poisoning. A coma from brain damage due to a bleeding stroke is a far different thing. It all depends on where the damage is done.