The Cerebellum: The Little Brain

I came across an article and video entitled, “The Boy Without a Cerebellum.” This piece made me want to read more about the little boy mentioned in the article, whose name is Chase Britton. He is a cute little boy who seems to be so full of life. As I choose the words “full of life,” I think back to what one of Chase’s doctors said in the article. He said he has the MRI of a vegetable. Mostly everyone knows what that means, basically a person who is non-functioning.  Despite being born without a cerebellum, Chase was not a vegetable. According to doctors seeing Chase, it baffled them. This is because according to our text, “The cerebellum is involved with coordination of muscle movements. Damage to the cerebellum can result in irregular and jerky movements, tremors and balance impairment” (Goldstein). This seems to hold true for Chase, although he has some trouble with walking and needs assistance, he is able to walk slowly with the help of a walker and people around him. His movements according to the video did not seem jerky at all. He was walking and smiling and looking at his IPAD.

If this surprised and baffled me, I can only imagine what it did to the doctors.  According to the article he was able to sit up on his own, and this is something no one would be able to do if they did not have a cerebellum (Holewa, 2011). His diagnosis is cerebellar hypoplasia, which normally means a small cerebellum rather than a missing one (Holewa, 2011). Chase is literally able to according to the article hold a pencil, walk, and ride a bike, which doctors say he should not be able to do with his diagnosis. This little boy is a miracle and he’s literally walking proof that even if you are missing a part of your brain structure, doctors and scientist do not know everything. If damage to the cerebellum can cause balance impairment and irregular movement of muscles, and Chase is functioning, able to pick up a pencil, focus on an IPAD and ride a bike all without his cerebellum, this should make doctors and scientists reevaluate the things they think they know.

Citation:

Boy Without a Cerebellum Baffles Doctors. Lisa Holewa 2011. http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/12/chase-britton-boy-without-a-cerebellum-baffles-doctors/