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A Navy SEAL was convinced exposure to blasts damaged his brain, so he donated it to science to prove it (www.nbcnews.com)

submitted 9 months ago by MicroWave to c/health

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“We’re really at an infant stage in terms of our clinical ability to assess traumatic brain injury,” a medical expert said.

Before he ended his life, Ryan Larkin made his family promise to donate his brain to science.

The 29-year-old Navy SEAL was convinced years of exposure to blasts had badly damaged his brain, despite doctors telling him otherwise. He had downloaded dozens of research papers on traumatic brain injury out of frustration that no one was taking him seriously, his father said.

“He knew,” Frank Larkin said. “I’ve grown to understand that he was out to prove that he was hurt, and he wasn’t crazy.”

In 2017, a postmortem study found that Ryan Larkin, a combat medic and instructor who taught SEALs how to breach buildings with explosives, had a pattern of brain scarring unique to service members who’ve endured repeated explosions.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I really appreciate that my doctor will regularly admit they aren't 100% sure, and often sends me to specialists and for labwork to eliminate worst case scenarios and run things down.

I'd be more concerned if they just wrote off my concerns and symptoms because they couldn't immediately connect it to anything other than say, stress and lack of sleep.

That said, my relationship with my doctor is probably not the norm due to some lifelong health stuff that keeps me going in every 3 months or so, and I've had the same provider for a good number of years. We've had enough time together for them to know how I approach my symptoms and health.

I'm also privileged that I have decent enough insurance, salary, and job that allows me to go and actually do all that. Most people don't.

Back to the point though:

I totally understand the "just fix it!" mindset, but I feel like anyone who has had to spend a decent amount of time troubleshooting anything should realize that isn't always possible. Especially with things regarding the human body.

How many different things can go wrong with a car, a computer, or a business process, that from the outside all look like the same issue? None of these are realistically comparable to the complexity of a person. You're going to expect someone to just listen to a few minutes of your whining, pat you on the back, and send you off with an 100% reliable solution for an issue with something as mind bogglingly complex as a human body?

You can't just drop your body off at the shop, have a crew of people take their time diagnosing and fixing it, and get it back when they're done. You're going to have to hual that death trap junk heap from place to place yourself to get it in front of the right people first. They might have to call in a guy who's familiar with your specific make and model, or a guy that's experienced with electrical systems.

I dunno, the idea of some sort of "quick result" doctor visit that solves your exact issues and doesn't tell you things you don't want to hear just seems incredibly naive.

[–] YarHarSuperstar 1 points 9 months ago

Agree completely, I too have lifelong health issues and I relate a lot to what you're saying. I hope you find better health and peace soon.