A stroke of genius

Every now and then I hear a lecture that really makes a difference, that changes my perceptions on things. It happens as well with books (I have a special shelf at my place with the books that “changed my life”, just seven books so far, still looks empty, maybe I will comment more on those books in another post…).

Well, it happened again. This is a must see. Those who know me well, know about my passion for neurosurgery and the brain (half of my life so far) and my passion for innovation, entrepreneurship and financing of healthcare start-ups (the other half). Jill Bolte is a neuroscientist. She had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: one morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened, as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding, she studied and remembered every moment. Her recall of what happened is priceless. As I said, this is a not to be missed presentation.

I will quote here several moments of her speech, although I came to realize it is not what she says, it is the energy she invests in it and how persuasive she is what makes this a very innovative lecture.

Here it goes:

“And in that moment my right arm went totally paralyzed by my side. And I realized, Oh my gosh! I'm having a stroke! I'm having a stroke! And the next thing my brain says to me is, Wow! This is so cool. This is so cool. How many brain scientists have the opportunity to study their own brain from the inside out?"

How amazing is that? She was having a stroke, and her “scientist inside” was looking forward to analyze it.

“But it was beautiful there. Imagine what it would be like to be totally disconnected from your brain chatter that connects you to the external world. So here I am in this space and any stress related to my job, it was gone. And I felt lighter in my body. And imagine all of the relationships in the external world and the many stressors related to any of those, they were gone. I felt a sense of peacefulness. And imagine what it would feel like to lose 37 years of emotional baggage! I felt euphoria. Euphoria was beautiful -- and then my left hemisphere comes online and it says "Hey! you've got to pay attention, we've got to get help," and I'm thinking, "I got to get help, I gotta focus.”

Best recall of a disconnection between left and right hemispheres that I have ever heard.

“Eventually the whole number gets dialed, and I'm listening to the phone, and my colleague picks up the phone and he says to me, "Whoo woo wooo woo woo." [laughter] And I think to myself, "Oh my gosh, he sounds like a golden retriever!" And so I say to him, clear in my mind I say to him. "This is Jill! I need help!" And what comes out of my voice is, "Whoo woo wooo woo woo." I'm thinking, "Oh my gosh, I sound like a golden retriever." So I couldn't know, I didn't know that I couldn't speak or understand language until I tried.”

Amazing story, watch the whole of it here. It is a combination between “how the brain works” + “stapple yourself to a patient to innovate better”. Being a patient can help you understand the needs of healthcare as well. A very innovative speech indeed.