Back in 2008 at Miami Children’s Hospital, during my first phase 2 mapping, we found out that my brain is “wired differently” than most. The Wada test that I have performed a week and a half ago confirmed this. Instead of Speech being on the left hemisphere, like most people, my Speech center is located in the right hemisphere. It also showed that my left hemispheres’ memory centers functioned less than 100% (88%), and that my right hemispheres’ memory centers functioned at a full 100%. We’ll get to why that is important, and how the Wada served as a two-in-one test, without really meaning to.

Going into this upcoming July’s hospital stay, the game plan is to do more phase 2 mapping, covering areas that MCH may have missed (Left Temporal Lobe, to be exact), and look at areas that they are not sure about. All of this will be in the left hemisphere, the frontal lobe to be more specific. This means, obviously, that the seizure activity is coming from the area where Speech should be effected, and any resection in that area on a “normal” persons brain could effect Speech permanently. That is the unintended result/reassurance that the Wada gave us. The intended use of the Wada was to let them know whether the right side of my brain could compensate for any removal of memory center in the left hemisphere. And since it is functioning at a solid 100%, that answer is a resounding “yes”. For this specific Wada test, I was given the “easy” version on the suggestion of my Neuropsychologist, based on preliminary results of my assessment.

We got a quick rundown of some things that were of interest to my Nueropsychologist that came up in my assessment. Firstly, that I was able to remember and recite a list of 16 words (I remember clearly it was 4 animals, 4 vegetables, 4 pieces of furniture, 4 modes of transportation) several times throughout the test with delays. I was probably asked to recite the words back 4 times over the test that took 90 minutes or so. And for anyone who knows me, these two revelations aren’t a shocker: I have issues with concentrating and multi-tasking (I won’t be putting that on my resume, of course, haha). This prompted her to suggest the use of the “easy” test during the Wada.

We meet with my Neuropsychologist on July 15th, will get the rest of the results for my assessment. You’ll know more when I do!

– GWAB

Quote of the Week –

“A lie told often enough becomes the truth.”

– Lenin (1870-1924)