After the initial shock of finding out that Archie was severely brain injured, we immediately began asking questions.  What is a brain injury? What parts of his brain were damaged? How much brain does he have left? Why won’t he talk or walk? How can we stimulate him and grow his brain? This is really just the tip of the iceberg.  We had a pad full of questions for the neurologists, and all he could simply say was it’s up to Archie.  

Well….I’m sorry, but it isn’t up to Archie it’s up to us buddy.  Looking back I now realize that it is the neurologists job to give us the worse of the worse.  Cause if they say hey sure they will walk and talk, don’t you worry your pretty little heart out, and they don’t, you’ll be heartbroken.  But if they say they will never walk or talk and your little fighter says Hi….or Mum…you are ecstatic.  Up yours neurologist!!!! Mind you, when you are in a beige room with a neurologist and he says your child will do nothing, that is pretty damn heartbreaking. Shattering really and takes your breathe away. 

Anyways, we knew about neuro-plasticity but we realized that we really were quite ignorant and naive. We didn’t know anything about how the brain works or what a brain injury really was and how to treat the injury. 

After we left the hospital we had a team of people in and out of our house. Occupational therapy, Physio therapy, social workers etc.  It was very overwhelming and at the same time annoying. I never left feeling exhilarated after their visit or empowered.  I felt like they just wasted my time and emphasized Archie’s symptoms, but never really touched the subject of the injury, the brain.  

I heard comments like,  “you can’t change what is happened to him, you need to deal with what you have”, or, “He will never be able to do that. Just make him comfortable”.  Debbie Downers, plain and simple. Just to make it clear though, I don’t disagree with all of their suggestions, they did have some good sensory ideas, and I’m not against the medical professionals, we have met a few that have been AHHHMAAAZING!  But I wasn’t convinced that the treatment they were offering was good enough or neurologically stimulating enough to save our son. And right now, we are his advocates. 

It didn’t bode well with either of us. So we researched and researched and we came across Glenn Doman’s book “What to do about your Brain Injured Child”. Well….. something that finally made sense.  Brain injury is in the BRAIN.  In case you didn’t read that correctly