Monday, December 20, 2010

Santa Baby

Even though I wasn't in a high-risk group for stroke--I was healthy, walked a lot, normal blood pressure, comparatively young--I'm very aware now of risks of stroke in other people. Whenever I see someone very overweight, I worry for them. I want to tell them, "don't kid around! You don't want to go through what I've been through."

I'm probably overreacting. A few nights ago we were watching TV. Whenever I saw another rotund Santa in an ad, I thought: there's a stroke waiting to happen.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Broca's neighborhood

Many years ago, I lived in Paris. My friends and I would often congregate at another ex-pat friend's apartment, which was centrally located.

The apartment was on a street named rue Broca.

After the stroke, people explained to me that I had aphasia. But it wasn't until when my brother-in-law--who is a doctor, and a very kind one--showed me his Ipod with an app that had a diagram of the brain, where I saw a label:  Broca's region.

When I saw Broca's name, it was as if I saw an old friend again. Of course, in a different context.