Reply To: Christina’s case (Year 1 Thur.)

[Anonymous]

In contemporary world we have more and more possibilities to learn and gain knowledge about human body and health. But it is sad, that we rarely use our options and don’t read science articles. Unfortunately, I must admit that I was one of that person, but the essay The Disembodied Lady changed my point of view and now I have strong will to learn more about neurology and different aspects of functioning of human body and brain.
Essay describes the story of young, active woman and mother – Christina, who all of sudden lost the proprioception. A sense, which is responsible for self-movement and body position. All of us can without a problem list of five senses (vision, hearing, touch, taste and smell). But there is more than that. Proprioception is described as the “eyes of the body”. It is necessary for body movement. Without it, we are not only not able to walk, dance and jump but even we can’t hold body in sitting position.
The story of Christine shows us, that we can’t be sure of another day. Even though the heroine of essay was active and overall healthy before, she became ill. What’s worse nobody knew what was wrong and at the beginning doctors claim that it’s only hysteria. She was diagnosed later. And the diagnosis changed her entire life, because she had to learn again how to walk, how to move. She did not have any feelings of her body and had to use her eyes to be able to do the simplest movements. For me it’s hard to imagine how she felt. I can close my eyes and be blind for a moment, I can cover my ears and be deaf, but how can I stop feeling my body?
Essay is also a great example how strong can be human will and that our body can adapt to every situation. Often, when we loose one sense another one take over its function and became stronger. In Christina’s case it was vision. Finally, she was able to move again, but she has never fully recovered. She mentioned that she had very little understanding from other people, who accused her of simulating disease or even being just drunk. I think, we should be more aware of other people’s condition and be more emphatic. Many times we tend to underestimate how other feels. After the lecture of the essay I decided to pay more attention and support for people with disabilities. And for sure I will never doubt a person, who tell me about their rare conditions.
Although, “The Disembodied Lady” was an essay full of medical vocabulary and sometimes difficult to understand without further research I strongly recommend reading this text and draw your own conclusions.