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It was a bike accident that damaged sixteen-year-old Jason’s brain and destroyed his life. Before the collision, Jason was a good student and a kind teenager who had a girlfriend he adored. After the crash, he became very angry and irritable, making it tough for his friends, family, and girlfriend to be around him. His girlfriend couldn”t take his outbursts anymore and broke up with him.
When Jason found out that she had started dating another guy, he flew into a rage. He headed over to her house and when he found her with the “other man,” Jason tied up the new boyfriend and raped his ex-girlfriend. The police showed up and arrested suicidal Jason.
I received a call from Jason’s attorney asking me if we would scan the young man’s brain. His scan showed the effects of trauma from the bike accident, with severe damage to his left temporal lobe, which is involved in temper control. I put Jason on two medications—Depakote and Effexor—to treat the problem, and he improved tremendously. His anger diminished, and he felt remorseful for his actions.
At Jason’s trial, the judge wasn’t interested in hearing about how Jason’s personality and behavior had changed drastically after his bike accident or that he had improved while taking medication. The judge sentenced Jason to eleven years in prison. Like the judge, the prison psychiatrist also didn’t believe that Jason had behavioral issues due to the accident, so he took him off the medications I had prescribed. Four months later, Jason hanged himself in jail.
This tragic story reveals just how harmful head trauma can be. Even though Jason’s injuries were considered “mild” by medical standards, they completely ruined his life and the lives of their loved ones.
Unfortunately, these types of head injuries are far too common. In my practice, I see many people who are troubled by the lasting effects of a brain injury (or two or three). Most of them never notice the link between the injury and the subsequent changes in their lives.
To minimize the consequences, it is absolutely imperative for anyone who has suffered brain trauma to get on a brain healthy program.
