{"id":764,"date":"2008-11-05T16:00:06","date_gmt":"2008-11-06T00:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/rising-above-adversity-the-amazing-story-of-jean-dominique-bauby\/"},"modified":"2013-08-19T12:10:52","modified_gmt":"2013-08-19T20:10:52","slug":"rising-above-adversity-the-amazing-story-of-jean-dominique-bauby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/rising-above-adversity-the-amazing-story-of-jean-dominique-bauby\/","title":{"rendered":"Rising Above Adversity: The Amazing Story of Jean-Dominique Bauby"},"content":{"rendered":"
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His mind was sharp, but his vision was blurred.\u00a0 He could think, but could not talk.\u00a0 He wanted to write, but could not use his hands.\u00a0 With one eye sewn shut, his only<\/em> means of communication was by blinking his left eye.\u00a0 Yet with all his obstacles and challenges, he was able to \u201dwrite\u201d a bestselling book that was turned into a movie.\u00a0 Who am I talking about?\u00a0 Jean-Dominique Bauby the author of \u201cThe Diving Bell and the Butterfly\u201d<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are stories that entertain, stores that scare, and stories that motivate.\u00a0 This is a story of motivation, perseverance and accomplishment in the face of adversity and debilitating paralysis. Every now and then you come across a story so powerful and compelling, that it grabs you by the throat and just won\u2019t let go.\u00a0\u00a0 Such is the nature of the true story of Jean- Dominique Bauby \u2013 locked in his body as one is in entombed in a diving bell, yet free to wander, dream and travel to faraway places using only his mind.<\/p>\n

Jean-Dominique was the editor of the French ELLE magazine and lived a fast pace life in the world of fashion. Then on one day in 1995 he had a massive stroke that left him completely immobile except for the movement of his left eye.\u00a0 Unfortunately he was the victim of a extremely rare condition called Locked-in Syndrome.\u00a0 Now, just take a moment to absorb Jean-Dominique\u2019s condition \u2013 you\u2019re mind is perfectly fine, you feel pain, hot and cold, a bead of sweat rolling down your forehead, but the only thing you can move is your left eye.<\/em>\u00a0 How would you react?\u00a0 Would you be able to turn your condition into something positive?
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\nLocked-in Syndrome<\/span><\/a> is characterized by full body paralysis usually caused by a massive stroke, traumatic brain injury or even by a drug overdose.\u00a0 Many times the only thing a victim can move is their eyes while their brain is typically undamaged.\u00a0 Jean- Dominique\u2019s mind was fully functioning, aware, and learning to cope with his new body while the blinking of his left eye was his only means of communication.\u00a0 Imagine for just a moment what it would be like to\u00a0 lie perfectly still,\u00a0 and the only thing you can move is your left eye.\u00a0 As an experiment \u2013 try to read the rest of this article using only your left eye.\u00a0 Go ahead.\u00a0 It\u2019s the least that you can do.<\/p>\n

Learning to \u201cwrite\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The therapist assigned to Jean-Dominique devised a means to communicate by organizing the letters of the alphabet by their frequency and reading each letter.\u00a0 Jean-Dominique would blink once when the correct letter was read that matched the letter in the word he was thinking.\u00a0 He would painstakingly spell<\/em> each word in the sentence he was thinking.\u00a0 Using this method Jean- Dominique was able to pen his memoir.\u00a0 He tells how he would mentally write, edit and rewrite his sentences before communicating them to his therapist.<\/p>\n

Making a Choice<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201dMy diving bell becomes less oppressive, and my mind takes flight like a butterfly.\u00a0 There is so much to do.\u00a0 You can wander off in space or in time, set out for Tierra del Fuego or for King Midas\u2019s court\u201d – <\/em><\/p>\n