Stroke Support Group

Left With Only The Ability To Blink One Eye
Posted by Beaumont - 05/31/08, 04:05 pm
Jean-Dominique Bauby was a French journalist who was left totally paralyzed after a stroke in 1995. He lost all his bodily functions, including his ability to speak. The only saving grace was that he could still blink his left eye.

Bauby had started working on a book before he became paralyzed and was determined to finish it. An amanuensis (someone who writes down or translates speech) began working with him.

As Bauby could only blink his left eye, it was the only way he could communicate with the amanuensis. The amanuensis would repeatedly recite a frequency-ordered alphabet until he blinked to choose a letter. If Bauby blinked once, it meant the letter was correct. If he blinked twice, it meant the letter was wrong.

Initially, Bauby and the amanuensis were not used to such a way of communication. There were many obstacles and problems. They spent six hours a day only to complete one page of the book. Gradually, as they developed a rapport between them, they could do three pages a day.

After months of hard work, they finally completed the 150 page book, titled "The Diving Bell And The Butterfly: A Memoir Of Life In Death." It was estimated that Bauby blinked his left eye over 200,000 times in the course of writing the book.

Bright people are plentiful, but successful people are few. Many bright people are not successful because they expect something more when they already have all the elements they need to succeed. A successful person, however, creates conditions for success, even if he is left with only the ability to blink one eye.

Article Posted 30 May 2008
Posted on 09/25/08, 01:09 am