Gales Family Update

On September 26, 2015, I met the Gales family in terrible circumstances--after Devon's devastating spinal cord injury while playing football at Sanford Stadium. What began as a tragedy has brought so much to so many. Devon and his family have been a gift to me personally and to the Athens and UGA community at large. We have learned what courage and grace truly are, how a family's love for one another triumphs again and again. And we have all experienced the truth that in giving, we receive so much more than we could ever have imagined. We were all strangers before that day, and now we are privileged to know this incredible young man and his family, who are working harder than most of will ever understand to make a new way in this world after a moment that changed everything. They have chosen determination, love and purpose over defeat. What an example for all of us.

Be part of building that better way. Join me in supporting the Gales in their journey. Let's build a home....

The University of Georgia Athletic Association has begun fundraising to help build a handicapped-accessible home for the family of Devon Gales, the former Southern University football wide receiver who suffered a career-ending spinal injury at Sanford Stadium in 2015.

With a goal of $500,000, The University of Georgia Athletic Association strives to build a home that includes all the necessary medical equipment required for Devon's care.

You can make donations in your chosen amount by texting “Devon” to the following number: (706) 204-1707. If you prefer to write a check, please make it payable to “Devon Gales House Construction Fund” and send to:

UGAAA

1 Selig Circle

Butts-Mehre Hall Rm. 402

Athens, GA 30603

Attn: Bryant Gantt

Start Your Morning Right

Our mornings are special and unique to each of us. Whether you love them or struggle getting out of your bed every morning, we all have a morning routine that brings us some sort of joy. Starting your morning off right with something you enjoy sets the tone for the rest of your day. Here at Athens Brain and Spine, we all really value our bright and early mornings. Here is a peek into our daily routines before you see us at the office!

Dr. Walpert:

I was headed back to my house from the gym a few mornings ago, looking at the stars and breathing in the nice cool air when it struck me how good it feels to start my days like this. An hour of hard strength training with weights, cardio on a rowing machine or a good solid run outside makes me feel strong and ready for the day. I am sure not 20 anymore, and my exercise routine has changed over the years in many ways, but getting up and beginning my work or weekend day like that gives me focus and energy....and makes me proud of myself for making time and climbing out of that bed to do something just good for myself! Whether it is just me alone, me with a friend or one of my boys, it is always worth pushing through that urge to stay under the blankets. Worth loving ourselves....

Donna Martin:

I like to start my day out by getting up before anyone else does. I take my sweet dog out for a morning walk at 5. Sometimes we walk with my neighbor and get some girl talk in or sometimes it is just the two of us enjoying being outside and getting some exercise. I then come back home and enjoy the first cup of coffee for the morning. Next it is time to get ready and wake up my two daughters. I fix them breakfast and pack their lunches all the while chatting about the events of the upcoming day with the kids and my husband. It is a great time to focus on the people I love as we all are about to head our different ways for the day!

Stephanie Smith:

The morning time is my favorite time. I am a morning person! I start my day with coffee and quiet time. I like to have quiet time in the mornings to pray, reflect, and prepare for the day before my children and husband wake up. But, loving on my children and husband in the mornings is what keeps me smiling through the day and starting each day positive. I realize just how blessed I am by seeing their smiling faces each day and it makes my heart full! My husband and I tell our children each morning to make good choices and be a leader. I think that is something we should each try and do! The one thing I tell myself is, if I can help one person each day or help someone to smile each day, then I feel like I have accomplished something!

Kara Whyte:

I will admit that I am not a "morning person", but the time I get in the morning with my family is something I treasure. Sitting down at the table to eat breakfast and talk about the activities for the day is something I will miss as my children start to "fly the coop.” I also enjoy the few minutes I get with my husband getting breakfast and lunches ready, he is incredible about being able to focus on tasks and watch sports center...amazing. Can't forget how great it is that the dogs are always there with an energetic "good morning greeting" with tails wagging.

Melinda Watson:

I try to start the morning at 5:00 am with a run, unless my sweet rescue pup, Clovis, is lying on my feet. In that case, I treat us both to an extra hour of sleep. I give my husband a goodbye kiss and I must admit that I give my two dogs a goodbye kiss as well. I have a 30-minute commute so I use that time to listen to NPR and plan my day. When the weather is nice I walk into work from our offsite parking lot and that gets me energized for a day of taking care of our patients.

Wes Anderson:

I wake up to music and keep it going throughout my morning routine. Music gets me moving and in a good mood to keep my going throughout the day. Also, instead of coffee, I enjoy a Coke Zero to get my morning caffeine to get me energized.

Victoria Fincher:

I start my morning by kissing my daughter on the head as she is still sleeping. I get in the car and talk to my Lord, listen to some music to get myself ready for the day. I always remind myself that what happens that day the Lord will help me through.

What’s your morning routine look like? What brings you joy? Start your morning off right and seize the day!

Our Education Doesn't Stop After Medical School

The medical field is fast-paced and ever-changing. Becoming a physician or nurse requires many years of initial education, but the learning doesn’t stop after medical school. Medical students are lifelong learners. After they take their boards, pass, and become licensed, these professionals continue their education. 

Continuing Education helps healthcare professionals: refine their skills, keep up to date on their specialty’s advances, meet licensing/certification requirements, and so much more. Continuing Education also ensures that patients are receiving the best and most up-to-date treatments. 

To keep up with all the modern medical issues and advances, healthcare professionals must be like a sponge absorbing new information. We highly value Continuing Education here at Athens Brain & Spine. By staying current with medical advances, our doctors and physician’s assistants are equipped to treat you with the utmost knowledge and care.

Is Cracking Your Neck Bad? A Neurosurgeon’s Answer

Think that it’s dangerous for the girl sitting next to you in class to crack her neck? Does your neck crack occasionally? Many people ask the question, “Is cracking your neck bad?” Don’t fret - it’s not something to lose sleep over. Unless it is associated with other symptoms such as weakness in the arms or bad neck pain, you don’t need to make a trip to the doctor. The sound is often caused by fluid moving around in the joints of our necks, which is normal.

So take a deep breath and let your mind be at ease! For the most part, cracking your neck isn’t as bad as it sounds!

Contact Sports and Concussions

Don't let fear of contact sports and concussions deter participation in sports

It’s that time of the year again… Stadiums are filled with ecstatic fans, tailgate parties sprinkle our nation and players put on their gear ready to play! It’s an exciting season and you might have a child of your own taking the field this year. Have you found yourself worried for their safety in football and other contact sports? Do you hear about concussions and instantly panic?

Dr. Walpert discusses how a concussion should be handled. Physical exercise is crucial to the health of our kids today, which makes contact sports a great option. However, there are several factors to keep in mind when your child takes the field. Make sure they know to listen to their body and never push an injury too far. Many people are able to recover from a concussion in less than two weeks with the proper treatment and recovery. Fear of concussion shouldn’t deter participation in sports, but safety must remain the top priority!

Emergency Care in Athletics Course Media Advisory

Last month, the medical and sports communities of the southeast joined together at an Emergency Preparation for Athletics Course hosted by Louisiana State University. Our very own Dr. Walpert was one of a handful of invited speakers at the conference, and our friends at Athens Regional Medical Center were among the event’s sponsors.

The course holds a special significance to the staff at Athens Brain & Spine and ARMC because it was created following the cervical spine injury of Southern University football player Devon Gales. The Gales family and Southern University saw an opportunity to bring together national experts and the athletic community to raise the bar on emergency care for athletes with a focused continuing education conference aimed at teaching physicians, EMTs and sports medicine personnel. We are fortunate enough to be a part of Devon’s care team, and his positivity throughout this trying time has been a light for all of us. We hope that by contributing to the Emergency Care Course we can continue to make a difference in the lives of athletes who have experienced similar situations as Devon’s, while educating others in the hope of preventing future athletics-related emergencies.

We were privileged to be among so many others from the medical community. Among the attendees invited there were 150 medical personnel from the Southwestern Athletic Conference schools and Southeastern Conference schools, as well as representatives and doctors from local emergency medical services and hospitals. The course covered a wide range of emergency conditions common in athletics and the proper responses to take if one arises. We were able to learn from each other about best practices in these situations and practice scenario-based athletic emergency techniques.

This course is so important for all medical professionals because of its ability to educate and train us to respond quickly in situations of crisis. At Athens Brain & Spine we continually strive for excellence in medicine and patient care, and if we can make a difference in an athlete’s quality of life following an injury, then it will be well worth it.

For more on this story:

http://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/news/2016/06/30emergencycarecourse.tk.php http://www.swac.org/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=211061291

Diving Has Serious Risks In Water That’s Too Shallow

Diving Risks

A nice dip in the pool or the lake is extremely refreshing this time of year! However, the risk factors that come with a quick jump or dive can be dangerous if you don’t practice diving safety. Before you dive into any body of water, make sure that the water’s depth is more than twice your height. Diving safety is extremely crucial and you’ll be thankful you took the time to check the depth instead of risking injury.

Your summer fun doesn’t have to come to a halt. When it’s hot and humid outside, a swim is very refreshing. Simply check your surroundings before making a splash! If you aren’t sure of the water’s depth, keep it safe and wade into the water. You’ll still have the chance to enjoy a swim!

We think this infographic released by The Shepherd Center is on-point in regard to diving safety. Check out the statistics associated with unsafe diving. It is eye-opening to know that most injured divers are adults! This goes to show that no matter your age or experience in swimming, a diving injury can happen to anyone.

Back pain and Golf--not the end of your favorite pastime!!

Back pain can threaten our hobbies, but it doesn't have to.

Most back pain associated with golf is musculoskeletal. At the beginning of the season, everyone is eager to get back out in the sunshine, walk those beautiful courses with friends and recoup some of last year’s losses. Unfortunately, the winter months can lead to less exercise overall, and this increases the chances of pulling a muscle or aggravating a joint when returning to any sport. A couple of things may help you get back to the links with a lower chance of having back pain. Be sure to do gentle stretches for your back, starting after a hot shower when your muscles are loose. Make this a daily routine. Stick with an exercise program that keeps your core muscles strong all year long, such as gentle yoga, pilates or mat work in the gym. Walking and swimming are great programs to keep your back and abdominal muscles working at their best. Make those an enjoyable part of your regular health maintenance, grabbing friends or spouse, or your favorite canine companion. If you develop back pain after a round or two, take a break. Hot showers, ice and/or heat, gentle walking should help. If you can tolerate anti inflammatories such as ibuprofen or naproxen, using an over-the-counter medication can reduce some of the pain. Ease back into your game as the pain improves. Most of the time, the pain is related to a vigorous swing, carrying a bag when you haven’t for a while, or pulling clubs out of the trunk. Take a look at how you are doing even the most routine things and be sure you are smart about your body mechanics! If your back pain lasts or is too severe to be managed with the strategies above, or if it is associated with weakness in the legs, bowel or bladder dysfunction or lasting numbness, see your doctor. You may have another problem that needs different treatment, such as a disc problem, stenosis or a compression fracture.

Neurologist or Neurosurgeon?

What is the difference? We are really two halves of the same orange! Both neurologists and neurosurgeons manage problems in the nervous system, but each of us has areas of expertise and tools at hand that the other does not! Neurology is a medical specialty. These doctors (neurologists) have special training in the evaluation of conditions not managed with surgery. Common conditions seen in a neurology practice include headaches, peripheral neuropathy, seizures or epilepsy. Chronic conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and dementia are often diagnosed and managed by neurologists as well. Research in the neurology world has led to great strides in the medical management of these diseases. Emergencies such as stroke are also managed by neurologists. Neurosurgery addresses problems in the brain, spine and peripheral nerves that could require surgical intervention. Most of what neurosurgeons do is not surgical, but we are continually evaluating the best treatment option that might include an operation. Conditions seen in a neurosurgery office include disc problems in the neck or back, compression fractures, brain or spine trauma (including concussion), brain or spine tumors, brain hemorrhages, carpal tunnel syndrome or ulnar neuropathy. Hydrocephalus is a common diagnosis seen in a neurosurgeon’s office, and we perform CSF shunting operations to treat this problem. Pituitary tumors are managed here, and we also treat certain conditions with a specialized form of radiation called stereotactic radiosurgery. How do you decide where to start? Often your medical doctor can help guide you, but if you wonder whether or not to start with a neurosurgeon, feel free to contact us and we will do our best to set you in the right direction.

What’s springing at Athens Brain & Spine?

The first 3 months of 2016 have been a whirlwind of activity, and we are so thankful you’ve taken the ride with us! ABS has brought a breath of fresh air to brain and spine care in Athens, raising the bar for our specialty as our community leaps to the next level in medical education and new partnerships. We are so proud to be a part of Athens at this exciting time in medicine. Here’s a little taste of what we’ve been up to…. We revel in building individual relationships with our fantastic patients. How privileged we are to get to know such a great group of men and women! They are teaching us on a daily basis how to improve their care. Individualized perioperative counseling on a one-on-one basis, a robust and growing education library on our website, and a commitment to keep our referring doctors informed about their patients’ progress are a few of our most important initiatives. We’ve teamed up to continue to spread the word about projects to support the Gales Family as Devon graduated from Shepherd and went home. We are launching our WELL WORTH THE WAIT program this month, offering our patients and their families the opportunity to use their wait times to build their health, walking on the Medical Services Building’s indoor path or exploring the nearby community park, completing various educational activities, or writing their own healthy living contract to engage them in their own treatment. Our staff is trying to walk the walk, too….literally! The ABS team will participate in ARMC’s Dogwood Dash in April. We hope you will join us in this fabulous fundraiser for cancer research in our community. Much more to come in 2016!!

Devon Gales

On September 26, 2015, I saw Devon fall to the ground on the football field and knew that the call would be coming shortly, knew that in an instant, a young man’s life had been forever changed. I had no idea how much my life would change.

Neurosurgery is a field full of terrible injuries, life-altering disease. As doctors in this field, we are responsible for caring for many patients in the most horrible of circumstances. We operate, repairing what physical injuries we can, depending on the body to heal as it can. We teach, we guide. We bear witness to moments of fear, despair, pain. We also, however, see miraculous moments of triumph and joy.

Devon Gales brought a community together after his spinal cord injury. He and his family displayed a sense of grace and determination from the moment he hit the doors of ARMC emergency room. Not once did I hear him say “I can’t” or “I won’t.” He simply smiled and worked, occasionally grimaced and moved on. People from all walks of life were inspired by his smile, by his family’s quiet presence, and they rallied around Devon and his family so far from home. The healthcare providers who took care of him, the UGA fans who cheered him on, the many young athletes who reached out to shake his hand and knelt to hug him seemed to come from everywhere. Community businesses shared resources to lift his family up and allow him to continue to move forward with his rehabilitation. I have never been so proud and so honored to be a part of our Athens community as during this time.

His athletic work ethic, his steadfast spirit have brought a stepwise healing to his body. He is a miracle of youth, medical technology and community in progress.

I must say that in a time when I find myself ashamed for my boys to watch the news, to see how even our leaders treat one another with blatant disregard and disrespect, I am proud for them to watch stories like Devon’s. We have talked about family and community, about healing and miracles, about hope. Devon’s family has made mine better. Their son has made my sons’ universe bigger and brighter.

Our lives will never be the same having had the Gales in our world!

The School of Hard Knocks: Concussions

Let’s talk about the most common head injury, the concussion. Though the term has been much talked about lately, many people are still not fully aware of what a concussion is. In simple terms, it is a brain injury caused by a blow to the head or to the body resulting in a force being applied to the brain as it moves around inside the skull. Concussions can occur with either mild or severe blows to the head. Some head injuries may appear to be mild but recent research is revealing that concussions can have serious, long-term effects, especially repeat concussions. The brain is injured when the brain moves around within the skull. The brain cells all fire at once, much like a seizure. What does this do to your brain? In the immediate aftermath of a concussion, there may be some structural damage at the microscopic level with some cell death. However, the primary problem is often related to chemicals in the cells that have survived the incident. When there is a sufficient blow to the brain, the membranes of the affected nerve cells in the brain are stretched or twisted, which changes the way those cells send signals to one another, thus the phenomenon of seeing stars if the affected area is involved with sight or ringing in the ears if the affected area is involved with hearing. Until the chemical balance is restored, those neurons are unable to fire again. In a protective reflex of sorts, surrounding cells begin to shut down. If enough cells become depressed, confusion, amnesia, and even loss of consciousness result. Meanwhile, in an attempt to recover, the brain starts using up massive amounts of blood sugar and will continue to do so for as long as 30 minutes. This overuse of this glucose results in the production of lactic acid which, in excess amounts, inhibits brain function. A demand for glucose by the brain, such as when one is studying, causes an increase in blood flow to the brain. When the brain is injured, it can no longer regulate blood flow. This process continues unabated for 3-4 days but fully normal blood flow may not resume until 10 or more days have passed. Consequently, at precisely the time the brain needs extra fuel to repair itself, it ends up getting less. While the immediate chemical reaction of the brain to the concussion is brief and generally completed in 30 minutes, it takes days for the individual cell and the brain as a whole to restore that chemical balance which was lost so quickly. Until that balance is restored, the brain doesn’t work as well and is particularly vulnerable to re-injury.

If you or someone you know has suffered a concussion, get it checked out immediately.

The next few minutes, hours, and days are crucial, so don’t risk further injury to your brain. Athens Brain & Spine specializes in concussion management. Our team has extensive experience with these injuries and stays in the forefront of concussion research and treatment. We will help you recover quickly and get back to work and play sooner by working to develop a personalized recovery plan. Contact us today if you need concussion management in Athens, GA.

Why You Should Choose a Neurosurgeon for Your Spinal Surgery: What makes us different from orthopedic spine surgeons?

A neurosurgeon specializes in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of disorders of the central and peripheral nervous system. Our training encompasses caring for the brain, the spinal cord and the nerves, including their support structure--the spine. Why settle for a surgeon whose expertise allows him to manage only one part of the problem? What if you problem isn’t limited simply to the bony scaffold but to the system as a whole? Neurosurgical education begins at day one with intense training in function and disease of the brain, spinal cord and nervous system. This approach to care of spinal disorders views the spine as a system, with bones, discs and nerves all working together to make your body work. Because we see all of these parts as interrelated, we approach the evaluation and treatment of spinal problems without isolating the discs or bones in the spine. Spinal surgery training is part of every day, week and month of a 7-9 year residency training program for neurosurgeons. Orthopedic surgeons get very little spine training during a residency focused on the joint and bone disorders that are the core of orthopedic education, completing their spine training largely during a single 12 month post-residency fellowship. Much of spine surgery is similar in technique whether performed by a neurosurgeon or an orthopedic surgeon. We remove and reshape bones, trim back discs, fuse portions of the spine with titanium instrumentation and grafts. Orthopedic surgeons, however, do not perform brain surgery or surgery on the spinal cord, exacting microsurgical techniques left to neurosurgeons. Any spine surgery is millimeters from these structures at all times. Why wouldn’t you choose a surgeon who is qualified to manage any problems that exist or may arise in the area of your surgical procedure? One who is extensively trained in microsurgical technique to manage issues in these delicate areas? Only neurosurgeons are trained during their residency to perform procedures inside the lining of the spinal canal called the dura. Spinal cord tumors, arachnoid cysts, syringomyelia, Chiari malformation, spinal cord vascular malformations, tethered spinal cord, spina bifida, nerve tumors, and a few other diagnoses fall under the domain of the neurosurgeon. Choose only the best team to care for your spine--it is the center of your body, the foundation for all you do!