Mindpop

by Nina Mitchell

I had a stroke when I was 26. My Mind went Pop: Mindpop. My stroke took away my limbs and speech for a while. Here are some chronicles…

I. Dating

As a general rule, friends don’t set up friends with disabled friends.

II. Fireworks

I had my brain surgery at the end of June when I was 26. The night of July 4th, I watched the Independence Day fireworks from the roof deck of the hospital. The display seemed to go on forever. In reality, it was just a few minutes. My sense of time was changed.

III. Big Sister Hand

When I was little, my right hand was the dexterous one. I gave my hands personalities: The right was the Big Sister Hand: strong and smart. The left was the Little Brother Hand: a bit slow.

You can guess the birth order in my family.

Now my left is the dexterous and the right is slow.

IV. Soul

Up until the 19th century, Western theologians thought the brain was where the Christian soul lived. The brain was not divisible with separate areas for language or motor skills. It was symmetrical, a godly orb.

But by the 1860s science demonstrated localization — different brain areas for different functions. The brain was not a symmetrical orb at all.

Where is the soul?

V. Cheer Me Up

My aunt says that as she has gotten older, more strangers smile at her in the street, as if they have been taught “old people need to be cheered up because their life must suck.”

Is disability the same?

Are you patronized?

Previously: Other Mindpop posts.

Nina Mitchell also writes on Mindpop and Facebook.

© 2011 by Nina Mitchell, The material in this article is protected by copyright and may not be copied or published or otherwise distributed without the Author’s permission. All Rights Reserved.