Patiently waiting on science and faith for daughter's healing

Patiently waiting on science and faith
By Billy Cox

The Palmetto youngster was badly hurt when a swingset toppled onto her in December 2007.

PALMETTO - One day, Lexi Antorino was painting with watercolors, reciting her ABCs, and counting to 10 in Spanish.

Then, in a moment, her life and the lives of those who care for her were forever

The thing packs a jolt to the fingertip, like one of those concealed hand-buzzer gags. Sarah laughs; Lexi gets it in the arm twice a day, 90 minutes per session.

"She's the youngest person they've ever tried it on," Sarah says.

It's called a right median nerve stimulation (RMNS) cuff, and its effect on the brain was discovered, accidentally, by American orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Ed Cooper in the 1980s.

At his practice in Kinston, N.C., Cooper initially used neuro-stimulation therapy to reduce spasticity and increase muscle control among brain-damaged patients. By placing a cuff of electrodes along the median nerve of the right forearm in quadriplegics, he learned that the current jumped hemispheres and also strengthened the left arm.

But he also began to notice that certain patients in minimally conscious states showed signs of improvement in their cognitive abilities.

After observing the positive responses of several dozen brain-impaired patients at the University of Virginia and East Carolina University, Cooper published his results in the journals of "Neuropsychological Rehabilitation" and "Brain Injury."

Widespread research has yet to occur, but the RMNS cuff has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. With their pediatrician's approval, the Antorinos began using Lexi's cuff in July.

Now retired, Cooper has neither met Lexi nor examined her records. His remarks are cautious: "You never know about these things. Overall, I'd have to say I'm optimistic about her making some type of functional mental recovery."

Then he volunteers an observation that has nothing to do with his medical credentials but seems on-point with the views and hopes of the Antorinos.

"I've found that the kind of parents who have the most hope are conservative Christians and faithful Roman Catholics. They seem to have the deepest belief in miracles."

Web page, http://www.prayforlexi.com/,
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