IF AIDS and cancer are the worst diseases that could befall any human being, I would say that a stroke is a close third.
Stroke survivors either recover completely, or they may lose some of their abilities to function or think like they did before.
Having a brother with schizophrenia motivated Jill Bolte Taylor to dedicate her life to research in brain science, specialising in the post-mortem investigation of the human brain. - Photo by Katherine Domingo, My Stroke of Insight.With so much at stake, I never would have described the experience of surviving a stroke as anything other than a narrow escape from death.
But when neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor realised that she was having a stroke, her first thought was “Wow, this is so cool!” And it turned out to be just the experience she was looking for after years of studying the human brain - the first-person account of mental deterioration, inside out.
My Stroke of Insight is Taylor’s compelling story, from brain scientist to stroke survivor and back.
Having an older brother who experienced symptoms of schizophrenia since young, Taylor’s fascination with the human brain stemmed from her desire to understand how she and her brother could walk away from the same experience with different interpretations about what had just happened.
It was this curiosity that led her to dedicate her life to research in brain science, specialising in the post-mortem investigation of the human brain.
By the age of 37, Taylor had completed two post-doctoral research fellowships in Harvard Medical School, served on the US National Alliance of Mental Illnesses (NAMI) for two years and was travelling extensively around the United States as the “Singin’ Scientist” who sings to encourage people to donate their brains for research when they no longer have use for it.
Life was good for Taylor. She was at the height of her career, living her passion and enjoying herself, until she woke up on December 12 ,1996, to a piercing headache that would change her life forever.
“Within four brief hours, I watched my mind completely deteriorate in its ability to process all stimulation coming in through my senses,” she wrote.
Taylor had what scientists and doctors would call an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) - a congenital disorder that predisposes people born with it to strokes during their prime years of life.
As one of the first documented accounts of stroke by a brain scientist, My Stroke of Insight is a unique blend of scientific knowledge and spiritual insights.
In 20 chapters, Taylor provides a detailed account of her stroke, her orchestration of her own rescue, her surgery, and her recovery - physiologically, psychologically and emotionally.
With as little jargon as possible, she translates the experiences of a stroke patient into physiological changes that occurs in the brain, making her story an educational one. And if brain science is too daunting to understand in words, Taylor had also provided anatomically accurate drawings to help illustrate her explanation.
What makes this book unique, however, was the spiritual insights found in Taylor’s description of the partial loss of her “thinking” left brain.
Disconnected from the internal chatter created by the left brain (which controls her line of thought, speech and action), Taylor was free to experience the bliss of being in the present moment.
In fact, the ability to be in the present moment was so blissful that Taylor had to convince herself to try to regain the functions of her left brain in order to be “normal” again.
As she slowly regained her ability to reconnect to her left brain, she soon found out that she could choose to tune out negative internal chatter and experience inner peace just by thinking positive thoughts.
As she put it, “Nirvana is just a thought away”.
In recovery, Taylor describes the conditions of which she was most responsive to treatment and rehabilitation, the role people around her played in her recovery and the shortcomings of conventional medicine, which often treats the disease, and not the person.
She also addresses the importance of moral support - something which is often overlooked or neglected by friends and family of stroke survivors in their desperation to nurse their loved ones back to health.
“Recovery, however you define it, is not something you do alone, and my recovery was completely influenced by everyone around me. I desperately needed people to treat me as though I would recover completely,” wrote Taylor.
One step at a time, Taylor put her left brain back online with the support of her mother.
While stroke survivors can relate to Taylor’s story and understand more about their condition, medical professionals can understand better the psychological and emotional needs of a stroke survivor in rehabilitation. There are also tips on how to recognise a stroke and recommendations for recovery that caters for everyone.
It is always a pleasure to meet or read about someone who can always see the silver lining in the clouds, because they bring hope in the gloomiest of days. Taylor is definitely one of them.
My Stroke of Insight is available at Kinokuniya bookstores at Suria KLCC and retails for RM 87.95. Interviews with Jill Bolte Taylor, including one with Oprah Winfrey, can be accessed at her website, drjilltaylor.com through the “In the world” link.
