“The Disembodied Lady” (Year 1 Wed.)
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Hello everyone! Before we start the discussion, I’d like you to take this quiz.
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I do not agree with the author of the text. I think that she has not failed at all . In my opinion Christina has such a difficult time living in the “dead body”. She can’t really be herself in her own body. She fells like she has no connection with world that we know. For sure she succeeded in functioning with her condition with was enormously hard.
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I wouldn’t say that Christina failed. In my opinion it was her body that failed her. She suddenly lost her proprioception and started feeling like a ghost. She is exposed to the unfortunate situations such as social incomprehension and threats – she must stay focused all the time otherwise she may hurt herself. It must be very exhausting. But despite all the difficulties she didn’t give up and remained strong. Christina successfully learned again how to live a life – how to move, eat, talk and do every normal activity like a healthy person. I can only image how hard that was. For me she is a true inspiration.
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Do you think she really behaved like healthy person, considering everything she did after being diagnosed was a sort of acting? Her activities weren’t actually “normal”, she kind of learnt them.
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Not giving up is never a failure. I guess Sacks might have thought about not recovering completely when saying she “both succeeded and failed”. But still, I can’t agree with him and I must agree with Zuzanna that it is a success for her that she could function in her condition.
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She had to be very strong, because she was very independent. She had two young children, and worked as a computer programmer at home. She was very active.
But then, she became more and more strong. Because she learnt how to deal with her new situation.
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I find Christina’s case quite interesting and scary at the same time, I believe with the statement “that she both failed and succeeded” to some extent. I don’t believe her loss of priopreception should be seen as a failure, as something she is defeated by as the author stated. It’s something she had no real control over and her moments of weakness (like watching films from the past when she was dancing) were a normal human, emotional reaction. In my eyes she mostly succeeded, she overcame the disability as much as she could, she learned how to live within a society all over again, while all of us, who don’t have such difficulties, had it easier when it came to learning how to function. She made up as much as she could for the loss of sixth sense, and I find that as something that should be seen as a success. I tried imagining myself in her situation and I think a lot of people, including me, wouldn’t be able to overcome the obstacles that she faced. I think it’s underrated how much of mental strength one must have to accept such disability and force themselves to live normally as much as it’s possible.
What surprised me the most was the fact that she somehow predicted it in her dream, and I wish it was more elaborated and researched in the essay.
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Hi Karolina. You wrote that you wouldn’t be able to overcome the obstacles she faced. Do you think you’d have another option? What else could you do except trying to resume your life? Lying in bed, wallowing in self-pity?
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Honestly it’s very hard to imagine what she went through and how would anyone react to it. I think she did have an option either doing something about it and learning how to function or lying in bed, complaining and reminiscing about the past. I think for me personally it would take time to adjust and even accept the loss of the sense, but at the same time I can only imagine. There is a chance I would act differently than I expect now, if the situation occurred. A lot of elderly people tend to get mad at the world and aggressive when they are starting to feel like their health is deteriorating and I think that is in a way a coping mechanism that also could happen in this particular disability of losing priopreception. I don’t know how I would personally overcome the frustration of not being aware of my own body and feeling, as she phrased it, pithed.
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“I think she did have an option either doing something about it and learning how to function or lying in bed, complaining and reminiscing about the past. I think for me personally it would take time to adjust and even accept the loss of the sense …” – yes, she had and she eventually chose life. It did take her some time – do you remember how long she was in hospital? People are incredibly resilient and able to adopt to new conditions. I may not happen overnight, though.
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If I remember correctly she stayed in the rehabilitation ward for about a year.
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Indeed, so she had a lot of time to come to terms with her disability.
What surprised/interested you the most while reading the essay?-
Everything was interesting but what stayed with me is what I stated earlier, the fact that she had a dream about it before it happened and I wish it was more researched in the essay. Was it her instinct or her body giving her signals, information? I think it’s the most interesting yet underrated part.
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I belleve that he had on mind only her body because it failed her. It wasn’t her fault that she had such condition.
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Or maybe the thought that she failed in being? She was not the person she used to be as her life changed dramatically.
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I agree with Zuzanna, I think the author meant that her body failed her, not that she has failed as herself. She could still feel emotions, she was still aware and able to communicate and think and be her own person, she just couldn’t really express it in a way society is used to. Just because she changed doesn’t mean she failed, it just means she adjusted to the new circumstances.
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I see. However, at times, she considered herself defective and defeated. Don’t you think it’s hardly an attitude of a successful person?
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Not really, because moments of doubts or feeling defeated don’t erase the success and the work she has done. I feel like her success is not about the attitude, but more of what she overcame and managed to live with.
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Yes, you’re right. Do you know another person who is struggling/struggled with a loss in their life, in the medical sense (e.g. a loss of memory, speech or sight)?
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I unfortunately don’t know anyone who has had a long term loss, but I do know someone who had a short term memory loss, who was my grandpa who had a bad reaction to the meds he was given and suffered from memory loss. He didn’t recognize anyone, even my mom (his daughter) or his wife, but thankfully with time he remembered everything and is all fine now. I don’t remember all the details because I was about 8 or 9 nine years old but from my point of view it didn’t last very long, maybe 1 or 2 months.
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She was still a person. She didn’t stop feeling emotions, vulnerability etc. Only she was seriously sick and that was her biggest weaknes and biggest problem. Body is only a body. We associate ourself with it but it didn’t make us who we are. Our human side make us who we are. She was still the same only with demaged body
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I wouldn’t call her sick or ill, Susanna. She was disabled just as disabled is a person with e.g. vision loss.
Do you know a peron who is struggling or struggled with a loss in the medical context? It could be someone who know or just heard of.-
Some time ago I find on youtube a girl that lost her audition when she was adult. She is Jessica Kellegren-Fozard. Amazing thing about her case is that she still can talk and has no problem with communicating with
not disabled onenon-disabled people because she developed lip–reading ability/skills.
I am sure that firstly it was hard for her but now she is a role model for everyone with some struggle inlivelife (not only medical) that you can defeat it and live happily.-
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Don’t you think Christina’s case was quite different? She wasn’t disabled in the way that people are used to – no wheelchair, no sign of problems with for example hearing. Do you think it matters in this case?
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I do not agree that she failed. Christina’s case shows how much we depend on things that we don’t even realize exist as long as they work properly. Healthy people do daily things easily without thinking, they can make few activities at the same time and don’t even realize how lucky they are and how hard would it be if their’s system wasn’t working right. She learnt how to live despite all the issues and in my opinion she did great, she never gave up so she should be an example for other people.
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Hi Victoria. Can you shed some light on the kind of life she had after she lost her proprioception? And what is proprioception in the first place?
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It’s one of our hidden sense, it makes that we feel our bodies, we know that they belong to us.
Her life wasn’t the best for sure because she didn’t have support from the society, what is more she was the first of this kind, so she didn’t understand exactly what was happening to her and she couldn’t defend herself from other people because no-one ever heard about such a disease. She lost part of herself as she said she didn’t remembered her life before and she was a completely different woman. There is said that she failed at being but did she? She learnt how to function and I’m sure that it cost her a lot of energy, commitment and courage. I think she chose better option of living than giving up and waiting for death.-
I see. Do you think that choosing life over death is courageous?
Sacks said that she filed at being. Maybe her life was so uncomplete that she considered herself defective?-
Probably she did. Especially seeing all those happy, healthy people she must had been thinking why it happened to her but still if so, then why she kept going?
Yes, I do think that choosing life over death is courageous, because sometimes it is more difficult to do and choosing more difficult and tough option needs courage.-
Or maybe she tried to move on because it was the only thing to do? After all, she had children to provide for, and I’m quite certain that she was a single mother.
Anyway, she resumed her life and in that she was successful.
What surprised/interested you the most while reading the essay?-
In fact the whole essay was quite interesting for me because I have never heard before about proprioception, it is fascinating that she could learn again how to control her body “only” by looking at it. It wasn’t normal moves but she could make them perfect at some point. It fascinates and scares me a lot because I can’t imagine it. The essay also shows that we can never be sure of anything because unexpected things can happen and turn our world upside down. I’m quite curious what happened to her children, how they functioned in this situation so I wish their point of view was included somehow.
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Yes, the story told from the perspective of her children could be very interesting.
Do you know someone who is facing or faced a dramatic loss in the medical context?-
Yes I know a few, but the loss is caused by age or they had a car accident.
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That’s true. Fortunately people I know learnt to live with all those painful memories and disabilities and they are ones of the most amazing, optimistic an inspiring people I have ever met.
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Yes, I do agree. She succeeded because she managed to learn how to live while being unable to feel her body. After some time she could move and do all the casual staff involving moving by concentrating her sight on each action she would want her body to do. Yet she failed because life afterwards was hard when she couldn’t see her old self in herself, couldn’t feel she have a body unless some light touches like wind against her skin would occur. Also people had no mercy as they couldn’t see her disability and would curse on her. It was possible to live in her condition but not normal. I think it really damaged her mental health and she felt broken.
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Her disability wasn’t clear. They probably thought she was messing around or that she was drunk. For strangers she looked ‘normal’ and acted weird so they were annoyed by her behavior. In result they treated her unkindly.
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No, because I can’t imagine myself in her situation. I don’t know how it’s like to move but controlling it with my sight, feeling only light touches and not feeling my body at all. Nothing similar has ever happened to me so I don’t think I can relate to Christina in any way but I do respect her a lot.
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I see. It’s indeed difficult to relate to her. Is her condition/disability rare? Are there many people with the loss of proprioception?
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According to the text there’s hundreds of people with the loss of proprioception but I think it’s rare especially those ones like Christina who can’t be cured.
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Assuming that she knew she was the only one who can’t be cured, do you think it mattered? Awareness of being the only person in such situation?
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She lost proprioception which is responsible for let’s say feeling the body. She didn’t feel her hands or feet. For instance her face became expressionless. Her life changed from functioning normally to hardly functioning. Everyday activities started to be hard for her.
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But if she didn’t feel her body and had no control over it, how was it possible for her to function relatively independently in society – have a job, take care of her children, move around?
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She had to learn using her ears and vision as her main organs and focus on not diverting her attention. This way she slowly learnt how to walk or take public transport. Due to
rehabilitationphysical therapy it was possible for her to act relatively as before she had lost her proprioception. It wasn’t easy not even because of her inability to do everything like a healthy person but also because of the lack of social support and sympathy – for example while taking public transport. But the main reason for her return to normal life was the varied therapy and rehabilitation.-
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Pithed, like a frog. She meant that she didn’t have sense of herself. She couldn’t identify with her old version and what’s more she couldn’t remember or imagine herself before this state. It’s like she lost her identify.
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She felt as if she was taken the spinal cord away or had it broken. That’s how I understand it.
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Like most girls, I think that it’s hard to talk about failure in this case. Author of this essay by saying “she failed” probably ment that Christina had lost her chance to live like she used to and she had became disabled for the rest of her life. I can’t imagine how hard must be loosing proprioception. For me Christina definitely succeded and she was undeniably a real hero. She was so powerful, because she didn’t give up, she just learned how to live without her hidden sense. Christina is an inspiration.
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Hi Emily. You wrote that she was a hero because she never gave up. Was there anything else except not giving up? You can’t stay forever in bed, cry and wallow in self-pity. How about the moments of despair? Did she admit to herself that she was defective and defeated?
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She could give up and just broke. In the book “Me before you” main character is disabled and he is not even trying to live like normal person, he desires to die because he can’t handle his “new” disabled body. Christina could do the same. She wouldn’t be a human if she didn’t have moments of despair, it’s normal, but after that she tried to live like everyone else, and nothing else matters.
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I haven’t read this book. But it’s a good think you mentioned another character facing a loss in his life. Of course, Christina could have broken down, but she had children and she had to live for them.
Is it easy for you to relate to her?-
It is definitely not easy to relate to her, for me honestly it’s almost impossible. I can’t imagine myself in such situation, I have no idea what would I do if I was her. I think her children must have been big motivation for her, but I know that in some cases people after some traumatic events or accidents are so broken that they do not care about their families. Christina must had have strong will to fight and big love for her family and for life to handle everything what happened to her.
P.S. I highly recommend the book I mentioned. It is nice to read, but also very touching.
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Do you think that rareness of her disability is a thing that makes relating to Christina so hard?
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Of course, Joanna! It is almost impossible for me to imagine what she must have feel. I tried to compare her disability to feelings I know, but nothing I know is not even similiar to her situation. I think that other people feel the same. What about you, Joanna? Can you imagine how hard must be living with her disability?
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I think I can’t even imagine that. I think it would be easier for her to live normally if people understood her disability – they didn’t, but I can’t blame them. It is a really uncommon situation, seeing person who’s not even sure where their hands are. But the worst thing for me is that they not only didn’t understand her – they didn’t even try and were quite rude for her. I think this is the worst. She doesn’t feel like her body was hers, and doesn’t feel like part of society anymore. It must be awful, don’t you think?
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I totally agree. But we must consider that random people on the street had no idea about her disability, so as you said we can’t blame them. I can’t imagine how did Christina look like when she tried to move, but that may looked like she was drunk or high and as we know, people are not used to help people in that state of mind, so I can somehow understand their reaction and missunderstanding.
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Well, Christina said that she experienced unpleasant comments about her disability from people that weren’t aware what happend to her. She tried to overcome the obstacles but sometimes others made it difficult for her.
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They were not. It’s easy to judge. People are unkind because they think, that everyone is as healthy as them.
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Despite understanding why the author of the text could see Christina’s case as both success and failer, I don’t agree with his opinion. The situation she found herself in, sounds extremly challenging and I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for her. Her condition was not something a lot of people came across at that times and I imagine that not a lot of them would even know what to do in her place. The fact that she learned how to oparate her body using her vision and how to live her live, despite all the challenges she was facing on a daily basis, is truly incredible. It’s true that she never “got her body back” but I wouldn’t call the way she learned how to functionate with her condition a defeat.
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Chritina’s condition in itself was pretty interesting to me. I can’t imagine how it must have felt for her to see her body but not feel that it’s actually hers. Making movements using only your vision also sounds as incredible as it sounds scary. The thing that caught me by suprise was also the dream she had before her conditioned started. I wonder if it was her brain’s unconscious response to what was already happening in her body or was it truly a prophetic dream.
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I also thought about this dream because I don’t believe that dreams offer us an insight into our lives. But you right, the process of losing proprioception could have started before she displayed any signs or symptoms. At the time she could already have had the inflammation.
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Another thing that caught my attention was the way people mentioned in the article reacted to Christina’s condition. Even at the beggining of the text, after telling the doctor about her weird symptomes, Christina wasn’t taken seriously until she couldn’t feel or control her body anymore. Later it was also mentioned how people on a public transport would look down on her, not understanding that the way she moved wasn’t something she could control. It was mentioned that even if she wanted to explain her condition, she wouldn’t know how to do so, since the nature of it was very diffrent from what we normally see.
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People can be cruel if they don’t understand or know something. I’m not surprised that they knew nothing about proprioception, though – just go outside and ask a random person what proprioception is. She may have a hard time even repeating this word (of course, you shouldn’t go out, given out current situation) 🙂
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No, I don’t think they were aware of her disability. But still they were unkind, maybe because of the fact that people are sometimes hostile to things that they don’t understand?
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It might be the case. It was even mentioned that for example blind people at least are treated with solicitude beacuse it is easier to imagine the situation their in. It is possible for person without any condition to close their eyes to partly understand what a blind person is experiencing but it isn’t possible to just disconnect from body. It’s even impossible to imagine that state.
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Right, and we don’t want to find out what this disability is like. Sometimes, though, proprioception can be misleading, as in the case when you deduce that a box is heavy (just by the look of it) and you lift it as if it were indeed heavy, but it turns out to be ligh – it feels strange, doesn’t it? You may even lose your balance.
Another thing is, lots of people may temporarily experience the loss of proprioception when they take too much of vitamin 6.
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I don’t agree with the author of the text that Christina both succeeded and failed. Despite her body remaining unreal, Christina was trying her best to lead quite a normal life as if she was a healthy person. It was an unexpected challenge which required a great deal of strength and persistence.
Christina may have lost proprioception but she remained an independent and courageous human being and this is inspiring.-
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I have a friend who was partially paralyzed from
awaist down in a car accident. This situation is precarious and extremely challenging for her. She’s going through physical therapy and hoping for the best.-
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While the doctors give her only a slight chance of full recovery, she doesn’t
looselose faith and is certain she will get better soon. She’s never been more optimistic and appreciative of life. Despite her disability she is doing things she has always dreamed of, such as traveling.-
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She has a devoted friend who accompanies her during all of her journeys. They travel by car with the wheelchair in the trunk of their car.
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I think the author said that she
hasfailed,because her body “wasn’t hers” anymore. But, considering the fact that she tried her best and did actually everything she could – I wouldn’t say she failed at all. She found herself in horrible situation she couldn’t understand – I mean, she used to have normal life which she probably enjoyed, was a mother and working woman – and suddenly shecan’tcouldn’t even feel her body. I’m sure it was horrible for her. But she was strong enough to stay in hospital for a year(!) and try to find a way to be herself again. Christina didn’t fail, her body did. For me, she is kind of winner here – and she succeeded.-
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I’m not sure. I know that sense of body is given by vision, balance organs and proprioception, which is the control, the owning and operation of our body, but I don’t know if this is what you’re asking for.
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Well, for me she did not fail at all. Her body failed, but that was not her fault. She moved on and tried to live with it. Of course, she felt a sense of loss and had several moments of breakdown, but who wouldn’t have? That was a hard situation for her, but she didn’t give up, and learned to live normally. I would say that at the end she succeeded.
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I think that Christina definitely did not fail. After all, she managed to some extent go back to her life prior to losing her proprioception. Despite having some issues along the way to full recovery, such as a lack of sympathy from society, Christina fought those battles in order to regain her strength, both mental and physical. In the end, she came back home and started working again, which I think is remarkable. I strongly admire her attitude and how she handled this whole situation.
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In my opinion the author is right. Christina
winwon, because she learnt how to live with such an inconvenience and after that shecancould live like she lived before in some way. But she also failed, because this situation in the beggining lead her to being dependent on help from other people.-
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For me it is very hard to relate to Christina, because I think I wouldn’t be able to get up after such an unexpected experience. In my opinion she is very strong women, because not everybody could manage to live normally after losing prioprocetion. For me it wouldn’t be easy and I can’t imagine how bad she felt.
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I think that because it wasn’t Christina’s choice to have this condition, we shouldn’t say that she
hasfailed. Not onlyshe iswas she the first case of losing proprioception, but also there wasn’t much knowledge about how to help her. Shehasspent years trying to learn how to funcion again. She didn’t give up. The lack of support from society and not having someone she could relate to could have damaged her mental state even more. Every little progress shehasmade after losing her proprioception I see as a success.-
I agree with you. I think it was really hard not to know what happend to you. She couldn’t get more information
sabout herillnessdisability/condition. She was all alone. There wastn’t any other person with the samediseasethat she could talk to. Nobody knew the exact reason of her case. If I were her I would be very scared. I admire her because she didn’t lose hope and didn’t give up and what is more she found the energy to learn all the things again. This is a real success.-
In a situation like this a person could really benefit from meeting someone with a similar condition. It could make things a lot easier to process and give a different perspective. Socializing with others is essencial for people. And is a lot easier when we don’t feel excluded or different from others. Christina wasn’t able to experience that.
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Girls, do you think that if there were more people with this kind of disability, it would make Christina feel any better?
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Yes, I do. I can’t even imagine how alone she felt knowing that no one had similar experience. It would definitely help her with understanding her condition at the beginning and during the whole recovery process.
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It is very probable. There would be more advice how to deal with that disability and maybe some support groups that could help her.
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She would feel more secure, not like an outsider. It’s good to talk to someone who understands you, especially when even you don’t know what is happening to your body and how to deal with it.
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I agree with everyone above, but also I think that if more cases like hers were known then the people would be more understanding. Raising awareness to less known disabilities creates a more educated society.
As the essay stated, Christina’s story was mostly settled in late 70’s and 80’s. Do you guys think that in today’s world people would perceive her condition differently and be less judgemental than back then?
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And when it comes to judging – nowadays everything and everyone can be easily judged by everyone. So, it is possible that she would meet with incomprehension. That’s very common among people to perceive some things differently and still judge without knowing what’s hidden behind some behaviour etc.
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Today’s society is definitely more sensitive and open to those kind of aspects. I think that more and more people are becoming aware of the fact that sometimes it’s better not to react or comment on something if they lack knowledge. I even see a difference between younger and older members of my family. But of course it doesn’t apply to everyone.
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Maybe then she wouldn’t have had the feeling of being different. For sure, it would be easier for her psyche – the feeling that there are more people like her and with problems like hers.
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Yes, definitely. In my opinion she would feel better with people around her who really know how she feels. They could also be best friends because of the same problems. It’s crucial that we make connections with people whose life is similar to ours. It’s obvious that life with this condition is hard so having friends that have the same problem means we can talk about our worries, share tips how to make our daily life easier.
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In my opinion Christina won. The condition of her body was independent of her will. Doctors did everything they could, but full physical recovery wasn’t avaliable at the time due to lack of knowledge about this phenomen. It’s not really a defeat, if you don’t know what exactly are you fighting. Also in her case I wouldn’t use words like “fail”. I think it’s more like her body just started to work different. And she didn’t broke down, she managed to live normal, even if kind of “unnatural”, life, as she consciously learnt how to do everyday activities.
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Can you imagine how you would react to similar situation? I know that is very hard to imagine, but would you be able to predict your reaction and mindset?
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The author said that Christina failed, because she couldn’t live as well as other people, no matter how much she tried. I disagree. I find her successful person because of her struggling. Her effort led to better life, as good as she could live. Her position wasn’t her fault, so the isn’t any reason to say that she failed. Moreover, she didn’t blame anyone, both herself or another person for her disability. She started to face her problems, to compensate her lacks with the vision, but it was really hard. She had to be careful all the time, but it led to her adaptation in the end, as good as it was possible. She was a real fighter, she didn’t give up, despite her rare and extremely tough syndrome.
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I think that she dealt with the condition very well, as well. Although even imagining myself in her position is scary and frustrating. What are your thoughts on how you would be able to adjust to such difficult condition like she did, learning everything all over again with many more obstacles to face?
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I totally agree with you that even thoughts about disability like that are really frightening. It’s hard for me to tell you if I could be that strong as Christine was. I think I would need a lot of support from other people, not only physical, but most of all mental. It would be really hard to cope with thought that you would never be able-bodied, like other people and yourself before.
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If you’d like to watch a short video about a lack of proprioception here it is.
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I think that by saying Christina failed the author meant the fact that she didn’t recover from her affliction, she ’failed in being’, had to change her life etc. Maybe it’s just the words he used, but I can’t agree with him – in my opinion she succeeded in every aspect of the situation she was put in. She didn’t give up, she did everything that was possible to live a life that was at least close to normal. It cost her a lot of hard work and suffering, but she chose that over letting her disability take over her life completely.
I think that in situations like this – when something fails them, their body, the world – people always have two options: to give up or to fight. And, although I don’t think it’s my place to judge anyone in a situation as difficult as Christina’s, I can surely call everyone who chooses the second option a hero and a person who succeeded in life. -
I totally agree with you. She showed her mettle and we could say she was mentally strong. People who do not give up despite the obstacles but even try to overcome them always inspire me.
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I strongly disagree with
OlivierOliver Sacks – the author. Saying that she “failed” is so inequitable and harmful. People like Christina might feel miserable if they hear something like that. It also may have an impact on theirs health and level of motivation to fight with disabilities. Both Christina and the man from the linked video are trying their best to make their life better and to live like an average person. We should respect them and do everything to make their life better e.g. socialize with them. Saying that “they failed” definitely won’t help, it only can worsen the situation. -
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Following the opinions of others I do not agree with the statement that she failed. The author meant that she failed, because she couldn’t live as well and comfortably as other people. But still, I disagree with him. She lost proprioception, she didn’t feel her body and had no control over it. She didn’t give up, despite the lack of public support. I can’t imagine being in a situation like Christina and I think she succeded.
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What if the woman had been blind? She would have had no chance of coming back to life. The sense of hearing alone wouldn’t have helped her much.
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There would be almost no chance of dealing with this situation. However, Christina had her eyesight and could focus only on this one disease and overcome it.
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But when someone loses for example sense of hearing- his sense of sight becomes more sensitive. And maybe it doesn’t help much, but it is still helpfull. It’s hard to think about situation, in which there’s no solution or person has lost cause.
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I think it’s hard for us to imagine how we will react in such situation, because we didn’t “collide” in our lifes with losing prioproception.
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I understand Sacks’s statement as referring to Christina’s case, not personally to her. Her case was quite failed because medicine was helpless and no one could help her. Christina has never been cured. However, her functioning and approach to this “new life” could be definitely considered as a success.
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There is no doubt that Christinas case is horrible. But the author of the text judged her situation by saying that she both succeeded and failed. I can say that I only partially agree with his statement. Getting to know a little about her illness, I can only imagine how much the girl must have been devastated. Losing proprioreceptors leads to losing control over your body. It was a huge achievement for her to learn some basic body movements and taking even partial control over her body back. In this aspect Christina won, because she could start living a decently normal life again and be almost independent. She is a hero to me, because I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to learn everything from the start. I completely agree with Oliver Sacks on that. But I can’t agree with the statement that she failed. She did her best to get back to normal. The fact that her illness unabled her to get completely well wasn’t her fault. Although I do imagine that the author wanted to say that, she just isn’t able to get back to normal (and probably that’s why he used the word “failed”). But to me she hasn’t failed at all.
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Christina was young at the time she lost proprioception. Do you think her life would have been different if she had lost it as a middle-aged woman?
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I think that it would. Because of the age her body was strong enough to deal with the condition and without it she wouldn’t get back to her daily life again. If she lost her proprioreceptors as a middle-aged woman her body wouldn’t handle this disease. Whats more in my opinion she could be dependent on other people who would have to help her with everyday activities that would be too hard for her. Also she could be very frustrated about how long it would take her to get healthy again and with this her motivation would be weaker.
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