My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey

As Taylor awakes the next day, a medical student approaches her to take her medical history, unaware of the fact that Taylor must communicate well. Taylor laments this oversight and claims that the hospital should prioritize “protecting its patients’ energy levels” (81). The student’s hurried behavior, loud voice, and frequent demands irritate Taylor, and she decides that she will have to become more protective of herself in the future. She makes a conscious decision to respond positively to her caregivers who are kind, calm, and gentle, while ignoring those who are demanding.

She describes her choice to pursue recovery as “complicated” and “cognitive,” explaining that while she loves the blissful, otherworldly feelings she was experiencing, she also wants to be able to engage with other people again (82). The author finds that her post-stroke brain is enabling a “heightened empathy,” making her very sensitive to other people’s emotional states, which can be draining. One of Taylor’s physicians is Dr. Anne Young, a neuroscientist who Dr. Taylor had already met during her work with the Brian Bank. The author appreciates Dr. Young’s gentle bedside manner and feels that Dr. Young understands she is “wounded,” not stupid (84).