How you can help
About a Brain Injury
On Sunday May 17th Cole was pitching for the Cincinnati STIX 14U baseball team, something he loved to do more than anything else in his life. Right after he released a pitch he was in a vulnerable position (still bent over) and a hard line-drive was hit back directly at him. He tried to duck under it, but the ball struck him in the head just above his hairline. He was originally conscious and coherent, but fortunately a nurse with a background in neurology was at the game and she immediately directed another Mother to call 911 as a precaution. However, within 5-6 minutes Cole’s condition dramatically changed and it became apparent he was seriously injured.
The Loveland Symmes Fire & Rescue team showed up and they made a critical decision to call Air Care. This decision was smart, and the flight physician was able to intubate Cole to maintain an airway and stabilize him before he was flown to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital a CT scan revealed that he had a fractured skull and blood was building up from the brain bruise. He immediately went into surgery.
From a recent carepage posting:
Two Years Later
Cole has two medical issues that we're trying to resolve: 1) Hemi-dystonia, the cruel, secondary condition/disease he developed after his accident, which causes him difficulty with his speech and right side movements, and 2) His skull hasn't healed properly. Of the two, the hemidystonia is much more serious, as it affects his daily quality of life. Therefore, we've spent significant time & energy searching the planet for expert opinions and possible treatments. The good news is that after a number of dead-ends and disappointments (Our trip across the country to LA Children's Hospital being one of them) we now believe we've potentially found light at the end of the tunnel.
Two Years Later
Cole has two medical issues that we're trying to resolve: 1) Hemi-
Last week Cole underwent an extensive, multi-day evaluation at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. The goal was to identify where in Cole's brain the hemi-dystonia was originating from, and to determine if there is anything they can do to treat it. Neither of these things had been accomplished/answered before. The folks at Mayo did a number of different imaging exams (one while Cole under general anesthesia), evaluated his speech, used advanced computer technology to analyze his neuro-muscular coordination, and had many different physicians and specialists assess
Cole Schlesner
READ MORE STORIES
him. The process was incredibly thorough, but exhausting.
The summary is that they were able to identify the problem area causing the hemi-dystonia. Amazingly, deep in his left brain (the opposite side of his injury), part of his "motor strip" (basil ganglia) is not functioning correctly. This is causing the aberrant signals to be sent to the muscles on the right side of his body, causing them to continuously contract and remain rigid. This is NOT the same side of his brain that was damaged by the baseball injury, and they can't explain why he developed this condition there post-accident. They told us that they've never seen anything before like this, which is amazing for Mayo, and that Cole was a "medical anomaly." This is definitely not the way you want to be famous. Evidently, the brain can do some crazy things as it's healing, and that's what they believe has happened to Cole. While the medications Cole's been taking have helped treat the symptoms, they will never solve the problem....and that's why we've been searching for other treatment options.
Here's the encouraging news: The lead Neurologist at Mayo explained that there is an advanced surgical procedure that might help Cole, and today the entire medical team was going to review, debate, and then vote on whether or not Cole is selected to be a candidate for the procedure. It's a little ironic that they're doing this on the 2nd anniversary of his accident, but we can only hope that God is going to reward Cole's positive attitude, patience and perseverance with some good news. If they do give Cole the "thumbs up" then our family will have to decide whether the potential benefits of the surgery outweigh the risks. If we say yes, then Cole would probably have the procedure done in June or July.
