April 2009

Eli
Eli was four weeks old and weighed 8 1/2 lbs when he was violently shaken. My tiny baby was airlifted from a local hospital to the Arnold Palmer Children's hospital in Orlando, Florida where he stayed for 12 days. He had a large hematoma in the back of his brain, extensive retinal hemmoraging, three large bruises in the back of his brain and a bruise that extended across his frontal lobe although he had no fractures or visible bruises on the outside. He was on life support for 9 of the 12 days of his stay at the hospital. After an extensive criminal investigation, his biological father was charged with aggravated child abuse and is currently awaiting trial.

Eli is now 10 months old and cannot roll over, crawl, or do the "baby babble" although he can sit upright. The latest neurology appointment reports that the hematoma in his brain has "liquified". Eli has several atrophies in his frontal lobes. He takes medication daily to control his seizures. Because of his age we are unsure of all of the disabilities Eli will have from his brain injuries. By the grace of God, Eli is only one of every 4 children who survive Shaken Baby Syndrome. He is my living angel and I am thankful for every minute I have with him.

Sidenote: The frontal lobe contains most of the dopamine-sensitive neurons in the cerebral cortex. The dopamine system is associated with reward, attention, long-term memory, planning, and drive. Dopamine tends to limit and select sensory information arriving from the thalamus to the fore-brain. A report from the National Institute of Mental Health says a gene variant that reduces dopamine activity in the prefrontal cortex is related to poorer performance and inefficient functioning of that brain region during working memory tasks, and to slightly increased risk for schizophrenia.