Initial treatment of a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) begins upon arrival to a hospital. At the hospital, a team of medical professionals, generally led by the trauma surgeon, will meet the patient. The trauma surgeon, acting as the leader, will direct the team. The trauma staff will initiate resuscitation procedures, monitor the bodys vital functions, respond to potential life-threatening changes and coordinate care with other hospital personnel. The patient may need surgery for injuries. In addition to the trauma surgeon, the surgical staff could include the neurosurgeon, a physician who performs brain and spinal cord surgery; an orthopedic surgeon, a physician who works with broken bones such as fractures of the arms and legs or the spinal column; or a general surgeon. While the physicians are assessing the patient and the response to treatment, the trauma nurse is caring for the patient: providing resuscitation, stabilization and supportive care. The nurses have the responsibility to coordinate and provide communication within the hospital and with the family. Once stabilized, the patient will be transferred to a specialized trauma care unit. Care will be provided by the critical care nursing staff. The nursing staffs responsibility is to assess, monitor and interpret vital physiologic … Continue reading →

Nearly two million traumatic brain injuries occur every year in the US. Reports have shown that emergency rooms can fail to diagnose or even document certain types of head trauma. Whereas something as noticeable as a cracked skull will generally be immediately diagnosed, subtler types of head injuries may not be caught by the first doctors to examine them. If a patient then follows up with other medical providers after the first ER trip, the lack of documentation and diagnoses on TBIs can lead to further delays in treatment. Complicating the issue further, some physicians are not experienced in mild traumatic brain injuries, preventing them from recognizing the signs of a TBI in the weeks after an accident. If the patient is relying on his insurance company to choose a doctor for treatment, the insurance company may select one that does not have experience in traumatic brain injuries as well. Dangers of Delayed Diagnosis with Traumatic Brain Injuries Of course, a delay in diagnosis means a delay in treatment for the traumatic brain injury. This is especially troubling in matters concerning the brain, as failure to treat the injury in quickly can cause more severe, long term problems to arise … Continue reading →

Sports was life for Cory Palazzi. He and his mother, Lori, were always on the move from one game to another. Since he was a little boy, he always had a love of sports. He always wanted to keep busy and always wanted to play sports -- sports was like his number one, said Lori Gonsalves. What a great time it was in his life and in my life. His biggest passion was baseball. He was a talented pitcher, often making headlines in the newspaper. Scouts were taking notice as Cory got closer to college. But today, just standing on his own is a challenge. His brain damage, the result of an injury followed by a battle with addiction, is extensive. Lori Palazzi explained, His junior year going into senior year, he was pitching a game and he felt that his arm wasn't right, so we went and had that check and he had a torn labrum.so he had shoulder surgery on his right pitching arm. Cory Palazzi was a star athlete before injury, and then addiction. He was prescribed Percocet after the surgery. That was in 2005. Corey graduated from high school and went to college, but he never … Continue reading →