locked-in syndrome

I’ve never taken any kind of recreational drugs. I was too scared! I regret missing out on the fun but not missing out on the hazards. I’ve had a few friends I knew took cocaine from time to time. I have noticed that cocaine users will sometimes go down suddenly with a cerebral hemorrhage. A friend in […]

I’ve never taken any kind of recreational drugs. I was too scared! I regret missing out on the fun but not missing out on the hazards. I’ve had a few friends I knew took cocaine from time to time. I have noticed that cocaine users will sometimes go down suddenly with a cerebral hemorrhage. A friend in […] The post Cocaine Use Ages You Faster appeared first on Dr. Keith Scott-Mumby.

Locked-in Syndrome Many of you will remember my earlier pieces on “locked-in syndrome”, a condition caused by brain stem injury in which patients are fully conscious but can’t move or communicate, except through eye movements or blinking. One of the most celebrated cases was Elle magazine’s fashion chief Jean-Dominic Bauby. He suffered a catastrophic stroke (which I suspect was due to a cocaine habit). As a result he could communicate with the world only by blinking. He dictated an entire book by having someone recite the alphabet and then blinking when they said the letter he wanted next. What determination! Bauby’s book was called “The Diving Bell and The Butterfly”. It signifies the feeling of being sealed in a heavy metal diving bell at the bottom of the ocean, while having a soul that is restless and wanting to fly away, like a butterfly. It was eventually made into a movie (moving in this sense could also mean very heart-rending). All this I wrote about in Letter From Serendipity 57. It’s now transferred here to the new alternative-doctor.com blog: Jean-Do Bauby Story Now a new study published in the British Medical Journal [BMJ Open, news release, Feb. 23, 2011] has shown that surprisingly many locked-in patients are kind of happy. Only 7% said they wanted to die (euthanasia).

Locked-in Syndrome Many of you will remember my earlier pieces on “locked-in syndrome”, a condition caused by brain stem injury in which patients are fully conscious but can’t move or communicate, except through eye movements or blinking. One of the most celebrated cases was Elle magazine’s fashion chief Jean-Dominic Bauby. He suffered a catastrophic stroke (which I suspect was due to a cocaine habit). As a result he could communicate with the world only by blinking. He dictated an entire book by having someone recite the alphabet and then blinking when they said the letter he wanted next. What determination! Bauby’s book was called “The Diving Bell and The Butterfly”. It signifies the feeling of being sealed in a heavy metal diving bell at the bottom of the ocean, while having a soul that is restless and wanting to fly away, like a butterfly. It was eventually made into a movie (moving in this sense could also mean very heart-rending). All this I wrote about in Letter From Serendipity 57. It’s now transferred here to the new alternative-doctor.com blog: Jean-Do Bauby Story Now a new study published in the British Medical Journal [BMJ Open, news release, Feb. 23, 2011] has shown that surprisingly many locked-in patients are kind of happy. Only 7% said they wanted to die (euthanasia).

Paralyzed and cannot speak or move. What would you do? Locked-In Syndrome I recently read an amazing book: The Diving Bell and The Butterfly by Jean-Dominic Bauby. It is very moving indeed. Bauby was the Editor-In-Chief at Elle, the fashion  magazine in Paris, France. He was witty, rich, sought after by women, worldly and handsome. He had it all. Then, at the age of 42, he had a devastating brain stem stroke which left him totally paralyzed, unable to speak and move, yet fully conscious. We call this “locked-in syndrome”; the person is there, fully aware, but is unable to move and can’t communicate normally. [here’s the film trailer from YouTube]: It is a quite horrifying end for anyone but especially for Bauby, an intellectual and a socialite. There was just one saving grace. Fate left him with the ability to blink his left eye. Pretty soon he was using this to communicate. He gained a kind of a life.

Paralyzed and cannot speak or move. What would you do? Locked-In Syndrome I recently read an amazing book: The Diving Bell and The Butterfly by Jean-Dominic Bauby. It is very moving indeed. Bauby was the Editor-In-Chief at Elle, the fashion  magazine in Paris, France. He was witty, rich, sought after by women, worldly and handsome. He had it all. Then, at the age of 42, he had a devastating brain stem stroke which left him totally paralyzed, unable to speak and move, yet fully conscious. We call this “locked-in syndrome”; the person is there, fully aware, but is unable to move and can’t communicate normally. [here’s the film trailer from YouTube]: It is a quite horrifying end for anyone but especially for Bauby, an intellectual and a socialite. There was just one saving grace. Fate left him with the ability to blink his left eye. Pretty soon he was using this to communicate. He gained a kind of a life.