Dr. Les Neville
I have been on this earth for fifty-some years, and it is not often anymore that something comes along that amazes me. I have been working to put this journey together for a while now, and I have believed in the journey largely because Dr. Rusty Turner believes in the new neurology treatment he is providing for people with brain malfunctions of various types. The thing that started my journey in the first place was Les Neville, a friend who has been stuck in a nursing home for the last year and a half. Prior to that he was in a coma for a few months - the result of a car accident on 2/13/2012. You can read the articles published in the Charleston paper Here and Here.
Les has been going to the clinic for three weeks now. Here are numerous new behaviors noted by both others and myself in this last week and a half. He has read for the first time, without prompting. He has stated where he is and that it was a brain injury due to a car accident that has gotten him there. He got in my van and used the power window switch without prompting. He answered a question in a public situation in a way that was highly evolved, included memories from before the accident and was situationally appropriate. He told an aide at the nursing home exactly what to do about a tooth that was hurting her, and explained in detail to another aide how he could eliminate a gap in her teeth using braces. And yesterday, while visiting him with is sister, he signed his name on a piece of paper. Bear in mind that any of these things would have been a MAJOR breakthrough a month ago, and all have happened in the last week and a half.
We all are subject to self doubt from time to time, and I started out on my four year journey to raise funds to drive research for this new technique based upon what others have told me. I have read the accounts of the technique's success with epilepsy patients, migraine headache sufferers, stroke and traumatic brain injury victims and a few other brain disorders. But having worked with Les for over two years, now I have actually seen it working in the flesh. This is real, and it is a real good thing.
There are millions of people in just this country alone whose quality of life will be vastly improved, and I now know to my core that this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing. I am so glad you are along on this journey with me - I can only hope that my efforts will be successful in raising the monies needed to get clinical trials done so that this is available to everyone who needs it.
The clinic's grand opening was yesterday, and Les's sister Lisa, who is a nurse in Augusta Georgia was able to come to Charleston and attend. There were a lot of folks at the opening, and in an effort to not be overly intrusive I was only able to photograph a few of the people involved. Another day I will get photographs of all of the people who have taken huge risks based upon their belief in what they are doing. Here is Dr. Rusty Turner with Lisa Neville, Les's sister.
Dr. Rusty Turner and Lisa Neville
Jalietta Davis
And Jalietta Davis, a warm and bubbly personality who greets visitors and helps coordinate appointments.
Andrew Bienkiewicz
And Andrew, who moved here from Florida to help advance Rusty's work. Andrew is one of two neurology technicians that are working directly with Les.
Courtney Jordan
Courtney Jordan, on of the Nurse Practitioners on staff.
Chad and Tracy Evangelista
Chad, who takes care of keeping all of the computer equipment up and going. With the complexity of the QEEG equipment, a great computer person is crucial.
Dr. Jim Evans
And Dr. Jim Evans, who has been involved in publishing several books on neurofeedback and whose work over the last decades have been instrumental in bringing this effort to where it stands today.
Lisa and I were able to spend time with Les at the nursing home both before and after the opening. I am skeptical by nature, and I guess I knew that what I was doing was right, but now any doubts have been obliterated. I have hopes for Les to have some quality of life, I have great respect for all those that have taken huge personal risks to bring make this clinic a reality and much appreciation for those that pioneered the way that makes recovery for so many who are suffering a very real possibility.
I am spending today and tomorrow printing and mounting photographs for the clinic and for my use on the road. I have found that I can swap prints for a lot of things - and since I am living on a wing and a prayer, they can be quite useful.
We are in for a great ride. The rest of the edges of America await our discovery, and I will not be dissuaded from this journey that I have been led to. The next five years hold a lot of daunting challenges, but a day at a time we will make this happen. Thank you for coming along, and I will do my best to deliver to you the essence of life on the edges of America.
Happy Friday !!
David
If you would like to contribute a few dollars to this effort, just Click Here. To contact me directly, Click Here. Let's do this !!
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