Question: What is the best home treatment for a brainstem injury I received on April 1,1973?

Dr. Hibberd's Answer:

Brainstem injuries are usually devastating. Congratulations on accommodating your life to this terrible injury. Only supportive treatment is available. Home management is usually assessed by a specialized team including your doctor, spinal team, and your nursing team consisting of home care nurse, physiotherapist, and occupational therapists.

The brainstem is the main superhighway of input and output from the higher centers of our brain and controls the basic functions such as breathing, temperature, and basic life-sustaining body functions.

Survival and level of function retained after brainstem injury depends, of course, upon the extent of the injury you sustained. In the past, we did not believe that neural tissue could heal or recover, but we know there are cases where some nervous system function is recoverable. Since I don't have further details of your actual injury, I am limited on further suggestions. I hope this helps.