Good morning from frigid Scobey, MT!

Ralph and I are back on the road, healing the sick and observing life!

It has been two years since Ralph and I have shared with you, but life has a way of both getting in the way and changing your perspective on life. In my last posting, my plan was to blog more as I settled into an academic life. I was not going to work locums so I could be home with a blossoming teenage son.

Well, you guessed it, life sent in a 100 mph fast ball that totally changed both my plans and our family life. BG (our son) suffered a severe closed head injury 2 years ago and has suffered from post concussion syndrome since. Initially, he had a continuous debilitating headache that was uncontrollable with multiple medication therapies. Additionally, he had severe spatial vertigo so he was unable to walk without assistance. And if he attempted to read, after one to two minutes his headache became so severe he would vomit. We obviously could not leave him alone, so our family became home bound. Either Kat or myself stayed with BG continually, he was never alone. There was "no quick trip to get a gallon of milk". Kat and I rearranged our lives so we could care for BG.

This period was the most depressing, frustrating, maddening, and horrendous time in my life. Imagine your teenage son vibrant and active one day, and the next he is afraid to try and walk because he is afraid he will fall down. He doesn't want to go outside because his vertigo gets worse. He learns to compensate for the vertigo by crawling on the floor and sitting down to go up or down steps. He has a totally flat affect, he never laughs or smiles and he has no interest in doing things because he is afraid it will make his head hurt worse. Heck, a teenage boy that won't play video games? I am a healthcare provider, I take care of people, I "fix" people, yet I could not make my son better. Both Kat and I know people, we are respected in our local healthcare community, but we could not get appropriate help for our son.

There is a sports concussion program at one of the neurology groups in town. This program deals with concussions and the residual effects, BUT only if they occur during a "sporting event". It seems that the program is funded by research money, and BG didn't fit their research inclusion criteria. Now being the realist that I am, I know you can not truly imagine the emotions that that information produces, but try. What if that was your child? Well, I think you are getting the picture. The 6 ft 275 pound "papa bear's" redneck-country boy  personality moved expeditiously to the forefront! What do you mean "he doesn't meet your research criteria"? He is sick, you have the knowledge, information, and resources to potentially make him better, FIX HIM! Fortunately, this is one time Ralph's logic prevailed and I was neither arrested nor sued for inflicting severe bodily harm to the concussion program folks, even though I think it would have improved my state of mind (at least for a few minutes).

We finally found a program and facility in Atlanta, GA that provided information, resources, and support. Almost one year later BG's symptoms had improved enough for him to return to school, by the way, did I mention that he lost his entire freshman year of high school? He still has a continuous headache, that he rates daily as a 2-3/10. He occasionally has an increase in his headache that will put him in bed for a day or two, but he has learned to compensate and adapt remarkably well.

BG has returned to school and has made the honor roll his last two semesters. He has resumed most normal activities that teenagers participate in, including back to shooting competitive trap. He smiles, he laughs, and we have our BG back. We will help him deal with his headaches and pray that one day his head won't hurt (there is still that possibility).

Now that he is better, I have left the academic world and am back to doing what I love. Providing healthcare in rural and frontier areas!

Until next time,
Me and Ralph