My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor Ph.D

Author:Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2006-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

I had a blow-up mattress that Mama filled with air and she built a little bedroom for herself on the floor of my living room. She took care of everything-the grocery list, the phone calls, even the bills. She was considerate and let me sleep and sleep and sleep some more. Again, we both trusted that my brain knew what it needed in order for it to mend itself. As long as I was not sleeping due to depression, we respected the healing power of sleep.

Once home, we let my brain set its own routine. I would sleep for about six hours and then be awake for about 20 minutes. Generally, the average length of time for a complete sleep cycle is 90-110 minutes. If I was awakened prematurely by external forces, I had to go back to sleep and start that cycle over. Otherwise, I would wake with a severe headache, an irritable attitude, and not be able to either sort through stimulation or focus my attention. To protect my sleep, I slept with earplugs and G.G. turned the TV and phone down low.

After a few days of intense sleeping, my energy reservoirs enabled me to remain awake for longer periods of time. Mama was a real taskmaster, and there was no wasted time or energy. When I was awake, I was a sponge for learning and she either put something in my hands for me to do or exercised my body. Yet, when I was ready to sleep, we honored that my brain had reached its maximum level of input and we put it to bed so it could rest and integrate.

Exploring life and recovering files with G.G. was fabulous fun. She learned quickly that there was no point in asking me Yes/No questions if she really wanted to know what I was thinking. It was way too easy for me to zone out about something that I didn’t really care about and just B.S. her. To make sure she had my attention and I was actually working my mind, she asked me multiple-choice questions. “For lunch,” she would say, “you can have minestrone soup,” and then I would go on a search in my brain to figure out what minestrone soup was. Once I understood what that option was, then she would proceed with another choice. “Or, you can have a grilled cheese sandwich.” Again, I would explore my brain for what a grilled cheese sandwich was. Once the image and understanding came to me, she went on. “Or, you can have tuna salad.” I remember pondering Tuna, tuna, tuna and no image or understanding came into my mind. So I queried, “Tuna?” Mama countered, “Tuna fish from the ocean, a white meat mixed with mayonnaise, onion, and celery.” Since I could not find the file for tuna salad, that’s what we chose for lunch. That was our strategy if I couldn’t find the old file; we made it a point to make a new one.

The telephone rang all the time and G.

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