Weee! 😃 I'm so happy with the positive feedback I'm receiving from this post. And, of course, yours @agmoore, means a lot to me! Everyone seems to have stayed awake 🎈:)
You brother did very well! The preservation of intelligence and vocabulary are so important for patients and their families. It can be so devastating for some people to lose the ability to communicate verbally, even if temporarily.
And yes! As always, you got it! The nature of the injury is a huge factor in how effective neuroplasticity will take place. But, in your brother's situation, his advanced age (in his early 70's) also contributed to the persisting limitations.
For example, Individuals who have hemispherectomies during childhood years (due to abrupt damage) have the ability to develop speech and comprehension of speech even if the left hemisphere is the one removed ref.. How remarkable? This is not quite the case for older individuals, though.
With much, much love and infinite gratitude,
Your Brazilian friend,
Abigail