- Brain Injury, Car Accidents, Personal Injury
A popular Soul Train dance song, along with some other music, is helping a seven-year-old Macon girl recover from a serious brain injury.
Briana Lawson was in a catastrophic car crash on Christmas Day in 2015 that killed her older sister and left her in a coma. Two months and six surgeries later, Ms. Lawson regained consciousness but was completely unresponsive and unable to speak or move. Then, when music therapist Cori Snyder played Silento’s Nae Nae, Ms. Lawson unexpectedly raised her hand and almost unbelievably tried to dance, although she had a broken hip, broken leg, and broken facial bones. Later, when listening to old Christian hymns, Ms. Lawson held the microphone and sang “victory is mine” into a microphone.
Ms. Snyder likened music to a spark that can jumpstart an injured brain, because it allows patients to access old memories and emotions, while it reduces their pain and anxiety.
Brain Injury Symptoms
Every year, an estimated 1.7 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury. Because the initial symptoms, like anxiety and confusion, are often mistaken for shock or dementia, a TBI may go undiagnosed for several days or weeks. Many times, the victims only seek treatment after these symptoms seemingly become permanent.
At the same time, many other TBIs are violent events that obviously require immediate attention, which is why over a million people each year visit the emergency room, due to a brain injury. Due to the extended amount of therapy required, many of these visits wind up lasting for months or longer.
In addition to confusion and anxiety, some TBI symptoms include:
- Mood Swings: Sudden and drastic personality changes make it difficult to function in many social and professional environments.
- Paralysis: If the part of the brain that controls certain muscles is injured, those muscles will not function under any circumstances.
- Sensory Loss: Sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell are all controlled by the brain and spinal column.
These symptoms are permanent, because dead brain cells do not regenerate. However, after extensive physical therapy, many patients recover most of the lost functions, because nearby brain areas learn to take up the slack.
TBI Causes
Scientists are still trying to understand the nature of brain injuries, because some forms can only be diagnosed via brain autopsy. Some of the common causes include:
- Falls: Children and senior citizens are most at risk for falls or being struck by objects, such as a table corner, and these are also the most at-risk age groups for brain injuries.
- Motor Vehicle Crashes: Seatbelts and other restraints were designed to eliminate trauma injuries and not reduce the risk of a TBI.
- Sudden Loud Noises: Researchers theorize that these sounds create something like an electromagnetic pulse that somehow disrupts brain functions.
TBI victims are entitled to compensation for both their economic damages, like physical rehabilitation expenses, and noneconomic damages, like emotional distress.
Rely on an Experienced Attorney
TBIs often have lifelong consequences for victims and families. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Fayette County, contact the Wade Law Offices. We routinely handle cases in Fayette County and nearby jurisdictions.
