wear a helmet

I just returned from a clinical rotation at an amazing rehabilitation center. I saw a 17 year-old girl who was in a really bad car accident in February. She's actually "getting better;" amazing perspective, given the fact that she has to work really hard to speak because of weakness in her muscles, cannot maintain an upright position in tall kneeling unless there's someone guarding her, and cannot yet keep focused on a task. (Rancho Level V/VI, in case anyone cares)
What was she like beforehand, I wonder?


I'll probably be seeing a lot this summer, including more brain injuries. My clinical rotation will be in a Kentucky hospital. It is an "inpatient acute neurorehab" affiliation

"inpatient" means the you treat the patients while they're in the hospital

"acute" means their condition has just recently happened, so it's usually pretty severe stuff (vs. "subacute," which means their condition is probably a little less severe)

"neurorehab" is short for neurorehabilitation, which literally means therapy for problems with the nervous system--brain injuries, strokes, multiple sclerosis, and a lot of other diseases and conditions we've been studying this semester.

It's fascinating, but very, very sad.

Wear a helmet.