tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post1340934733626252982..comments2024-03-28T04:26:30.557-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: “Otis is in Confusion yet.”Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-25227462796715697442014-10-23T15:32:35.986-05:002014-10-23T15:32:35.986-05:00Well the rum *was* safer than the water, after all...Well the rum *was* safer than the water, after all! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-60254252825492291042014-10-23T14:02:01.671-05:002014-10-23T14:02:01.671-05:00Yes, I think the injury exacerbated Otis's con...Yes, I think the injury exacerbated Otis's condition, which he had managed successfully before. Drinking was another factor, some sources hint, but it's hard to say whether that was just a ready explanation for something they couldn't understand. J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-37109648423077877572014-10-23T12:40:01.376-05:002014-10-23T12:40:01.376-05:00Though he may very well have been bipolar, such a ...Though he may very well have been bipolar, such a drastic change in behavior might point more to a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury. It's hard to speculate 200+ years after the fact, but the symptoms fit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-70481602717895058302014-10-21T10:11:21.608-05:002014-10-21T10:11:21.608-05:00There are episodes in Otis family lore and John Ad...There are episodes in Otis family lore and John Adams's diary that indicate Otis may have had manic periods before his injury, but he had never been this irrational. There was definitely a break in his behavior in spring 1770. He tried to make a comeback, as I'll discuss tomorrow. J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-14803602106420395592014-10-21T09:27:14.560-05:002014-10-21T09:27:14.560-05:00With what modern medicine now knows about concussi...With what modern medicine now knows about concussions and their different types and complexities, one wonders if James Otis suffered one when hit by James Robinson's cane and then suffered from "post concussion syndrome" until his death by lightning. What we know of his symptoms just might justify such a diagnosis.EJWitekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05796418061787943596noreply@blogger.com