Trapped in your own body: 5 amazing stories

There is nothing worse than "locked-in syndrome" - this is the name of a condition when a person, being fully conscious, lies in a coma or when the muscles are completely out of control, with the exception of the muscles of the eyes. The reasons can be different, for example, it can happen after a stroke or as a result of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease of the central nervous system. We will tell you about the incredible stories of people who found themselves in such a terrible situation.

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1 Martin Pistorius forced to watch Barney

Martin Pistorius was an ordinary 12-year-old boy from South Africa when, unexpectedly for everyone, he fell into a coma. For several years the child was in a vegetative state, and the doctors could not understand what had happened to him. In adolescence, he suddenly regained consciousness, but lost the ability to communicate.

Throughout the time that he was in the clinic, Martin, so that he would not be bored, included a cartoon about the dinosaur Barney. By this time, he had learned to communicate with people using the keyboard.

In the end everything ended well. Pistorius married and wrote the book Ghost Boy, which was published in 2011. In it, Martin wrote: “I can’t even express how Barney got me during my incapacitated years.”

2. Jean-Dominique Bauby and his book written with the eye

Jean-Dominique Bauby was a successful editor of the French magazine Elle when he suffered a stroke at the age of 43. After a 20-day coma, Jean woke up, and his arms, legs, mouth and one eye were paralyzed, he was not even able to breathe and eat without mechanical assistance.

Despite these difficulties, Boby continued to communicate with the world. Thanks to a patient nurse, he was able to write an entire book. It happened like this: the nurse pointed to the letters of the alphabet, and if it was that letter, Bobby blinked his eye once, if not, twice. As a result, in 1997, a book called Le Scaphandre et le Papillon (The Space Suit and the Butterfly) was published. Jean died two years later. And later, in 2007, his book was filmed.

3. Stephen Hawking's Facial Muscle Communication

Perhaps the most famous case on this list is that of the physicist Stephen Hawking.

Having diagnosed Stephen with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at the age of 21, doctors believed that he had only a few years to live. And although his body was getting worse, his brain worked perfectly. Over the years, Hawking made many discoveries in the theory of black holes, wrote the bestseller A Brief History of Time. When Stephen lost the ability to speak in the 1980s, a programmer designed him a device with which Hawking could type words, which were then synthesized into speech. At that time, he could control with one finger, which he managed to type. But by the age of 73, only the muscles of his cheek remained active, thanks to which he does not cease to contact with the outside world. His story formed the basis of the film "The Universe of Stephen Hawking", nominated for "Oscar".

4. A graffiti artist draws with his eyes

One of the pioneers of street art is Tony Kwan, known by the nickname Tempt One. He is credited with a distinct style of Los Angeles graffiti. In 2003, Tony was diagnosed with ALS. Only his eyes remained unparalyzed. However, with the EyeWriter, Kwan can still create.

The device was developed by his friends who call themselves Graffiti Research Labs (“Graffiti Research Laboratories”). Their invention, the EyeWriter, is an affordable device that lets you draw graffiti and create shapes with eye movement, and the drawing tools are selected by fixing your eyes on them for four seconds. Many such images were printed and projected onto the walls of buildings.

5. Kate Allatt is cured of locked-in syndrome.

Usually people with this syndrome are doomed, but there are happy exceptions. When Kate Allat was 39, she suffered a stroke on her brainstem, which left her unable to move, and there was little chance of her recovery. But Kate didn't give up. After 11 months, she was able to speak and move a little. And today, Kate is almost cured, has written three books, and also helps others cope with the consequences of a stroke.