Today, a consultation with a neurologist is on the schedule.
MD PhD HAB.* W. visits Leo.
She hits his tiny knee with a hammer, shines a light in his eyes, squeezed tight from crying,
and informs his parents that Leo has hypertonia in his lower limbs.
To the question, “what does that mean in practice?”, she responds more or less as follows:
- It is certain that this child will not develop normally
—either intellectually or physically—
because he undoubtedly experienced extensive hypoxia (lack of oxygen).
Yet his development is the least of his concerns.
I have never in my life seen such a sick child.
Duchenne de Boulogne, Demonstration of the mechanics of facial expression
The doctors from the ward disagree; Leo never experienced hypoxia.
*MD PhD HAB. = doctor habilitated of medical science
