Stroke: when words fail you
I was just finishing a talk about documentaries I was giving in Soho. I'd been asked a question about why so many films are seriously depressing. I remember that I talked about the great neurosurgeon Henry Marsh and the documentary about him, The English Surgeon. The film followed him to Ukraine as he helped and taught the local surgeons, who often resorted to using rusty domestic power tools to work on their patients' skulls. I'd talked about him for some time, enthusiastically explaining how awed Henry said he felt every time he opened a patient's head, and about how beautiful the brain is. I wanted to say more - but suddenly I sat down, and couldn't say or think anything. Something had happened to me. I had gone into a different world of not making sense.
Related: Number of strokes in UK predicted to rise by 44% in next 20 years
Continue reading...