Just a couple of weeks ago, getting ready to head to high school, Parker Roos took part in a three-day team-building event called Outward Ingersoll. He climbed ropes, ran, wore jeans. At the often-vexed and often-vexing age of 14, he was having a blast. Hes had such an amazing year, says his mother, Holly Usrey-Roos. Everything the other kids did, he did. It doesnt sound like a such big deal. Unless, like Parker, you have Fragile X Syndrome, or FXS. Unless, like Parker, your medication becomes unavailable at any price. The leading known genetic cause of autism, FXS can have a wide range of symptoms. Parker used to be nonverbal, but aggressive, and mostly made his wishes known by screaming. Usrey-Roos once wore long-sleeved shirts to cover her bruises and became an advocate/educator to help people understand. Shes held fundraisers, fought for treatment, testified before Congress, stayed up late nights emailing other FXS families as a liaison with the National Fragile X Foundation. It hasnt been easy, but it got easier when Parker was 10 years old. He entered a drug trial for a promising medication called Arbaclofen. Two weeks later, he told his mother he loved her for the … Continue reading →

Advanced Stroke Care at UTMC and Why You Need to Know the Warning Signs UTMC neuro-interventionalist Dr. Mouhammad Jumaa discusses how technology has changed stroke care at UTMC and also the critical stroke warning signs that eve... By: UTMedCenter … Continue reading →

GAINESVILLE - Northeast Georgia Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's "Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement" award for the second consecutive year. The award recognizes stroke care programs that meet high benchmarks regarding quality of care, use of specific medications and the availability of smoking cessation resources. Gold Plus, the highest level of recognition possible, means NGMC excelled at these measures during two or more consecutive 12-month periods. With stroke treatment, time lost is brain lost, and this award demonstrates our commitment to providing aggressive, proven stroke care, said LaRoy Penix, MD, a neurologist with Northeast Georgia Physicians Group and NGMCs medical director of stroke care. Northeast Georgia Medical Center has a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the Emergency Department. This includes always being equipped to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting medications when appropriate. According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is one of the leading causes of death and serious, long-term disability in the United States. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 … Continue reading →

By Kate Wighton PUBLISHED: 18:48 EST, 3 June 2013 | UPDATED: 01:46 EST, 4 June 2013 Fallout: An MRI scan showing brain damage (in brown) after stroke From the moment she woke one June morning, Jenny Morgan knew something was wrong. She felt peculiar, her face wouldnt work properly and her arms and legs were like lead weights. When she tried to speak, her words were slurred, and she had a pounding headache. Her husband Neil rushed her to hospital, where they waited in A&E for three hours, during which time one side of her face began to droop and she lost control of her bladder. Yet when she finally saw a doctor, he seemed focused on one thing: how much alcohol Jenny had been drinking. He clearly thought I was drunk and kept asking how much Id had to drink, recalls the 61-year-old author from Solihull. I wasnt able to speak by this point, so couldnt remonstrate, but my husband told him repeatedly that Id had nothing to drink. It was still only around midday. The doctor discharged her, handing Neil a cardboard bowl in case his wife was sick. Not satisfied with this, the couple went to their … Continue reading →