Page 131 - The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss and Enhance Memory Power

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Joe had been doing an odd job in the house when he suddenly felt a tingling sensation in his right
forearm and hand. He dropped his tools and stood up, then suddenly felt weak-kneed and had to sit
down. After a minute, he felt fine, so he didn't tell his wife about the episode and resumed his
handiwork. Half an hour later, the tingling sensation again ran down his right arm, and his right leg
felt a little “funny.’’ This time, he reported his symptoms to his wife. She noticed that he seemed a
little confused and didn't remember what she had told him a few minutes earlier. She also knew that
he was a stoic individual, and that he rarely complained about physical symptoms. Terrified, she
brought him to the ER.

All his symptoms had vanished by the time they arrived. He was emphatic that he had never had
any such symptoms before. He was a smoker and had a family history of heart disease, but no family
history of stroke. His neurologic examination was completely normal. The history suggested a TIA,
so I immediately paged the neurology resident on call. Enter Dr. Durocel, whose energy output
greatly exceeded that of the battery bearing a close resemblance to his name.

After he heard my clinical presentation, his voice came through loud and clear, “Emergency CAT
scan!” He quickly pushed the perplexed Joe into a horizontal position and charged with the stretcher
toward Radiology. The technician performed at a speed that matched Durocel's, and within half an
hour we had the CAT scan wet films. Joe had an aneurysm (ballooning of an artery) the size of a
large peanut sitting on top of the left side of his brain. This aneurysm explained his right-sided TIA
TEAMFLY
symptoms, because the left side of the brain controls the right half of the body, and vice versa. The
location of the aneurysm on top of the frontal lobe also helped to explain his earlier transient
confusion and memory lapses, because the frontal lobe plays an important role in long-term memory.

There was an imminent risk of aneurysm rupture and massive bleeding, which could be fatal, but
Joe balked at the idea of brain surgery. Since his mild symptoms had disappeared, he was ready to
pack up and go home. His wife was nonplused and a little paralyzed with fear. Durocel started
screaming in frustration, and told the patient he was going to die if he didn't agree to surgery. This
got Joe's back up even more, and I had to step in to calm things down. I took Durocel aside and
suggested that we show the patient and his wife the CAT scan, where the aneurysm was clearly lit up
in bright white against the gray-black of the cerebral cortex. As I had hoped, the dramatic image

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