I Had a Stroke When I Was 26

by Nina Mitchell

I am a quirky young woman whose Mind went Pop. Mindpop. My stroke took away my limbs and speech for awhile. Here are some chronicles…

I. Door

Before I had brain surgery, my friend Helen offered to shave her head in solidarity. But the surgeon didn’t shave off much hair, so she didn’t have to. He made an arc-shaped door to my head behind my hairline on the left side, and shaved just the area around it. After surgery, I looked like a wacked punk rocker for a while, shorn on one side. Now I have scars in my hair like a door.

II. Do Brains Smell?

I asked my brain surgeon if our brains have a smell. He wrote back: “Like anything some peoples brain smells like flowers and others like s__t. thats why it’s better to live your life like springtime. just kidding. no smell at all.”

III. Patience

I was not a patient person before my stroke. I am now. Your view of time shifts as your mind and body reboot, ever so slowly.

A friend recently asked me if I was angry. The correct answer is “Of course.” How could I not be, as I have had to put my life on hold?

I’m patient now, but angry too. Tick-tock, tick-tock…

IV. Neuroplasticity, the Holy Grail

From Oliver Sacks in the NYT:

“Neuroplasticity — the brain’s capacity to create new pathways — is a crucial part of recovery for anyone who loses a sense or a cognitive or motor ability … I have seen hundreds of patients with various deficits — strokes, Parkinson’s and even dementia — learn to do things in new ways, whether consciously or unconsciously, to work around those deficits.”

This is why I spend so much time at the gym, doing blasted exercises. At present, scientists know that challenging exercise at huge levels of repetition can help rewire an injured brain. Neuroplasticity, rewiring, is the Holy Grail for stroke rehab. Hundreds of repetitions. Thousands.

But you normals have plasticity too. Ponder:

“That the brain is capable of such radical adaptation raises deep questions. To what extent are we shaped by, and to what degree do we shape, our own brains? And can the brain’s ability to change be harnessed to give us greater cognitive powers?”

— This Year, Change Your Mind, NYT 12.31.10

V. Inspiring

Despite my stroke, I am charming and well-adjusted.

People say I am inspiring. I don’t want to be inspiring. I want to be better.

Previously: Other Mindpop Posts.

Nina Mitchell had a stroke when she was 26. More chronicles are at Mindpop or 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.