The Blackfire Protocol by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 3

Frank arrived in the emergency room unconscious, and with two IVs already placed by the paramedics, the trauma team rushed him to MRI. The results

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were not encouraging, and the doctor concluded that his brain was bleeding into his skull. The more time passed, the more brain tissue would be compressed and likely destroyed. Frank needed immediate surgery and was placed in the hands of the state’s most skilled neurosurgeon, who, as it happened, was vacationing in a nearby cabin.

As Frank’s parents waited painfully in the lobby, the procedure got underway as the surgeon cut away his scalp, exposing the skull beneath. Once this had been pinned back, the surgeon drilled a single burr hole. Upon briefly examining it, the surgeon noticed the absence of blood, indicating the presence of a large clot. Thankfully, the bleeding seemed to have stopped, but the clot had to be removed. The protective tip of a skull saw was carefully placed into the burr hole, and with the squeeze of a trigger, a four-inch section of skull was removed. Now, the surgeon was easily able to visualize the large clot that lay on the surface of his brain. Confident that adhesions had not yet developed, the surgeon simply peeled the clot away and dropped it into a steel basin for study for pathology. The surgery was over, but a complication had quickly developed. The impact to Frank’s skull had been so significant that his brain began to swell.

“Shit,” the surgeon exclaimed.

What should have been a routine procedure had now become life-threatening. In such a crisis, a craniotomy is performed as a section of the skull is temporarily removed to allow the brain to swell while steroids are given to reduce inflammation. Most people with a similar injury tend to recover

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fully, but Frank had taken a turn for the worse, and after his surgery was complete, he was kept in a medically induced coma. His parents were at his side around the clock, while the town gave their support through prayer. Two weeks later, Frank was rolled into surgery again for the replacing of the piece of skull that had earlier been removed. The surgeon put it back together using plates and screws. The bones would eventually grow back together, covering the hardware as well. But as he regained consciousness, his parents began to see something different about him—something that could not be clearly defined. He had become unusually quiet, being highly perceptive of his surroundings yet not interacting. He had also become emotionally flat, never smiling, never laughing, nor angry. Perhaps it was the effect of the barrage of drugs used during the course of his treatment and that it would fade as he continued to recover. The doctor suggested that Frank may have undergone a personality change due to the severity of his head injury. His mother, Elaine, expressed her concerns.

“Could this be permanent?” she asked. “He’s always been so outgoing and friendly.”

The doctor listened intently, knowing from experience that any change in the brain's wiring from an injury of this magnitude is generally permanent. “Well,” he replied. “I have seen this before, but Frank’s young, and with young patients the brain is somewhat more plastic and tends to recover easier than in older people. I suppose the best answer I can give you is to give it time.”

The doctor also suggested that should this change fail to reverse itself over the next few months, he

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could recommend a psychiatrist. It would not be unheard of for a head injury to cause personality changes, depression, or even schizophrenia, but that is the domain of psychotherapy.