My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey

Taylor has enough awareness to try to contact her doctor and worries about the huge expense of the treatment she will require. She searches for her doctor’s business card, but once she locates it, she realizes she can no longer interpret written language or symbols. The whole card was a pixelated mixture of pieces, and even distinguishing between colors becomes confusing. She begins to lose her motivation to continue her search for help as her “silent mind” forgets who she is and what she is trying to accomplish (57).

The author feels that it is her physical discomfort that pulls her mind back to the present moment, and she continues looking for her doctor’s card. Over half an hour later, she picks up her phone to make the call. The phone feels unfamiliar to her, and she slowly matches the numbers on the card with the numbers on the keypad. She repeats her name and problem to herself in her mind to remain focused on her task, but when the doctor answers the phone, Taylor can only make sounds. She tries to pronounce words, and her doctor tells her to go to Auburn Hospital; however, Taylor cannot clearly understand what the doctor is saying.