Another one from Hot Air (the headlines, this time):

Six-Year-Old to Have Half Her Brain Removed Next Month Tuesday, May 20, 2008

A 6-year-old girl suffering from a rare disorder will have half her brain removed next month at Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore.

. . .

She suffers from Rasmussen's encephalitis, a rare illness that eats away at the brain and plagues its sufferers with seizures and reduced mobility.

Having been in the reduced-mobility camp, I can sympathize. In my own case I was prepared, a year ago, for any number of possible diagnoses, but I never imagined anything as horrible as this.

In most cases, he said, the healthy side of the brain will take over the tasks of the missing side of the brain. Some paralysis and other side effects are expected, but the seizures will stop, the Web site reported. Johns Hopkins does about a dozen of these surgeries a year. [Emphasis mine.]

I guess now we know why we only use that often-cited 15% of our brain. "Fearfully and wonderfully made," indeed.

Posted by Russ at 02:22 PM, May 20, 2008 in News