K's (middle initial) injury was on the left side of his head, damaging the parietal (controls the ability to understand spoken/written language and the primary sensory cortex) and the temporal controls (controls hearing and short term memory). With head injuries there are always other areas that sustain damage but it's microscopic so less shows up on MRI's. There was massive fracturing of the skull with fragments embedded in the cortex. Surgery took several hours to clean out the debris. He went back in several months later to have the plate put in his skull. Initially he had great difficulty with comprehension, written language and the spoken word. He had word retrieval deficits, could not read at an acceptable level, and constant headaches. He received speech therapy for a long time. There was also evidence of impulsivity, poor impulse control, and anger management issues. This was always a problem with him, but became worse after the injury. He refused to accept there were deficits then, and continues to this day. He developed a seizure disorder in the years following the initial injury, but refused to consistently take the medication, because he wasn't supposed to drink while on the meds. His deficits continue to be: slow processing especially with the spoken word; poor comprehension of spoken and written language and a problem with impulse control. And we all know his issues are compounded by his drinking problem. It's something he needs to get under control, but he needs to acknowledge the problem first. He's a lot like Dad in this area. Neither one would accept the fact that they were/are alcoholics.