I first heard of Jill Bolte Taylor, a Neuroanatomist, earlier this year after a presentation she gave at TED. TED is an invite only conference that is hard to explain. But lets just say people from all over the world are doing some of the most amazing sh*t you can imagine in dozens of different disciplines, and many are brought here to speak.

During her presentation, which literally brought down the house she said at one point:

And in that moment my right arm went totally paralyzed by my side. And I realized, "Oh my gosh! I’m having a stroke! I’m having a stroke!" And the next thing my brain says to me is, "Wow! This is so cool. This is so cool. How many brain scientists have the opportunity to study their own brain from the inside out?"

And the story is just getting started at this point. In four hours she'd forget how to talk, walk, eat, even who she was. It took eight years to recover ..... this is her story.

Oprah Winfrey recently interviewed a Harvard professor and brain researcher who experienced and observed her own stroke, from the inside out. As a result of this experience, and the spiritual awakening that went along with it, the good doctor came to understand the brain (and human experience itself) in a completely new way.  

If you feel so moved, take a short break from politics and see what she has to say. If you're anything like me, you'll be glad you did.

I just arrived in Boston last night to start a summer job on Monday. When I heard about Senator Kennedy being transferred to Mass General, I looked it up on Google Maps.

"Hey," I thought. "That's two blocks from where I am right now."

So I took my laptop and I am now blogging from the site that appears to be set up to receive press announcements.

Will continually update and post pictures.

Senator Kennedy's stroke highlights that this is Stroke Awareness month. Take a moment now to learn a very handy reminder of the signs of stroke - the email that taught me this quoted a cardiologist as saying that one person in ten could save a life with this information. Join me over the fold ---

A fascinating talk by a brain researcher describing her own stroke. Really worth watching!

So, I woke up Christmas morning and had trouble walking.  My left leg was all tingly, numb and heavy.  Figured out eventually that it wasn't just the leg -- it was everything on my left side from face to toes.

I delayed telling anyone ("must have bunged up my back") or doing anything -- didn't want to worry the kids, wanted to avoid medical bills -- in the hopes that it would just go away after I slept a little more.

By the next day, it wasn't any better.  The kids were gone, back on their way to Texas, so I wouldn't mess up their holiday.  I called a friend who took me into the emergency room (I don't have a "primary care physician").  

It was, indeed, a stroke.

This is the sixth posting in a series in which I present evidence about the ill effects of some drugs and medical devices, the ways these Sickening Meds are pushed by those who profit from them, and the reasons the FDA is neglecting its regulatory duties. (Check back next Monday for the final installment.  See previous postings here: Part I: Zyprexa, Part II: Baycol, Part III: Guidant, Part IV: Posicor, Part V: Redux)  If you agree that this is an issue that deserves attention in short order—please consider passing the word on to others. Maybe together we can put it on the national agenda. In the process we are sure to discover who keeps the politicians mum and how the drug companies are able to continue in this nefarious business.

My father ran a medium-sized insurance company in Kansas City in my youth and, when we were driving around town, he would point out accidents waiting to happen—say, leaving one’s bicycle sprawled across a path for someone to trip over in the dark. A more subtle form of foresight is playing the percentages—and some improving percentages lead to my suggestion, "Don’t Sleep Alone!"

Young adults mostly die, or become permanently disabled, from accidents. Later in life, heart attacks, cancer, and stroke become more common than accidents. Cancers are insidious but the three others strike without warning. They often require fast treatment to prevent permanent disability or death. How fast is fast?

I am on the neurology housestaff for a major university hospital in the NY/NJ Metropolitan area who deals with the travesty of health insurance and uninsured patients everyday.  I applaud Michael Moore for his movie exposing some of the horrors of healthcare that I deal with everyday.

Note to readers: I have not personally seen the movie myself as it hasn't been released, yet I'm basing the title on an assumption that MM will address the horrors of healthcare insurance in America.  I also have left out MANY details in regards to the example I discuss for the sake of saving time and preventing anyone from identifying the unique case and hence the patient I'm referring to (conforming to HIPAA regulations).

Looks like we'll be holding on to our edge in the Senate, as Tim Johnson plans to return in a few months:

Johnson's illness and ensuing absence from the Senate have highlighted his party's tenuous one-seat advantage in the chamber. He has been recovering at a private rehabilitation facility since leaving George Washington University Hospital last month. Johnson's office has said his recovery is expected to take several months, though he has been doing some work from his bed.

And democracy breathes a sigh of relief. Get well soon, Senator!

We all know we must exercise, to stay strong and healthy.

This is the time of year that many of us realize that we must take exercise seriously.

I know what you are thinking.  the word, "exercise" is so old fashioned, so Jack Lalanne.  Well, last I heard, Jack Lalanne is alive and going strong at 92.

So, give me a break, and tolerate old fashioned language.

Besides, if I say, "cardiovascular aerobic workout routine, optimized to raise the heart rate to the optimal rate for the optimal time,"  you would say I was padding my diary with excess wordage.

Senator Tim Johnson’s sudden illness was initially reported as a possible stroke, though the reports were subsequently updated to "an undiagnosed illness."

The threads in each of the several diaries on this topic have largely dealt with the political implications of Senator Johnson’s condition.

I thought that this would be a good opportunity to take advantage of a teachable moment, and spend some time on the overall subject of stroke and cerebrovascular disease.

Brain attacks are the third overall leading cause of death in the United States, right behind heart disease and cancer. That means many of us are very likely to encounter this condition in our loved ones, or in ourselves.

the important thing to many, many, TOO many people who posted comments in the "BREAKING" diary below is "shit, we can't afford to lose that seat."  Sorry, but that is NOT what we should be thinking of at this point.

Tim Johnson's health and recovery SHOULD be our concern, NOT the fact that a Republican governor will appoint his successor.  Damn, he went to the hospital to get checked out.  HE IS NOT DEAD!

Hopefully, Senator Johnson had a minor incident that can be diagnosed and treated quickly.  Let's find that out FIRST!!!

-- more --

My darling husband has had a stroke.

You've probably heard this news as I did this morning.

Coretta Scott King, first known as the wife of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., then as his widow, then as an avid proselytizer for his vision of racial peace and non-violent social change died Monday night, according to Andrew Young, the former United Nations ambassador who is an old friend of the King family. She was 78 and had been in failing health for years following a stroke.

From all indications, she died peacefully and quietly, with little pain.  As Andrew Young said, one of her daughters had tried to wake her, but Coretta had already made her passage.

This diary is for others to pay tribute to her and her husband Martin and perhaps, to imagine how we could take up their mantles in the shadow of the Alito confirmation, and fight on no matter what.  Even when the King children seem to pay lip service to human as well as civil rights...

There was a time, back when satellite-borne Bible broadcasting first became big-time, that I held reverence for Pat Robertson. The idea of airing the teachings of Christ could only be inspiring in the wake of such a troublesome time in our nation's--and the world's--history. It was the time when Gerry Ford was mailing out W.I.N. buttons and encouraging Americans to plant backyard gardens as a hedge against inflation. Unfortunately, mailing the buttons proved to be cost prohibitive as rampant inflation caused galloping postal rates, and Ford supporters planted hedges. The dilemna is: Between then and now has Pat Robertson developed brain damage? or has mine healed?

Looking at the dire situation of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, something seems not to add up.  Could there be more to the situation than meets the eye?

For all of his failings and mis-steps, I wonder if Sharon was becoming the best chance for peace, and if we will be playing a what if game with history, because he was, like Arafat, in a unique position relative to his people to broker the peace as an enemy.