Strange illness causes people to be 'locked up' in their own bodies

Suffering from "inner lock syndrome", Jean Dominique Bauby was completely paralyzed. But beyond fate, he still completed the memoir with 200,000 blinks.

"Lock-in syndrome" is a disease that causes people to be locked up in the subconscious. This is a strange situation when people are fully alert, fully aware but unable to control their bodies, except the eyes. This particular disease has many causes, including a stroke or a result of one side sclerosis.

Journalists write books with eyes

According to The Guardian, Jean Dominique Bauby is a successful journalist in the famous French fashion magazine Elle. In 1995, while driving a 9-year-old son out to dinner, Jean suddenly had a stroke and fell into a coma for 20 days. After waking up, Jean realized he was completely helpless, only able to blink his right eyelid, unable to breathe or eat without help.

Jean's doctor diagnosed with "internal lock syndrome" , a rare neurological disorder that causes paralysis of the entire motor function. Jean could still be aware of his brain, but he could not move, even if it was just a lip machine. All Jean's movements can do is wink left. He lost 27kg in the first 20 weeks after the stroke.

Jean completed the memoir by blinking.(Photo: Bluemaize).

Despite these difficulties, Jean is determined to communicate with the world. With the help of a special nurse, he can write a complete letter by winking. The nurse will point to the letter on the board and he will wink the one that is right and the two are wrong.

Finally, after 200,000 blinks in 10 months, he completed his memoir 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly' that records his experiences when he was sick. The book was later published in 1997. However, two days after the book was released, Jean suddenly died of pneumonia at the age of 44.

The province after 11 months was "locked" the body

Often, people with syndromes are locked up subconsciously . However, Kate Allat is a special case.

When she was 39 years old, Kate suffered a stroke and fell into a full paralysis. After 3 days of coma, Kate woke up and worried about who would pick up the children to go home. But then, she wondered why there was a tube connected to her mouth.

In a state of panic and pain, Kate found herself unable to move."The only thing that can move is my eyelid. I cried but didn't make a sound," Kate recalls.

Kate Allat recovered after 11 months of stroke.(Photo: Thetimes).

At this time, Kate did not know how to continue life. But the problem got worse when the people around at first did not realize she was consciously conscious."I want a pillow on my head but no one can understand it. I just want to get rid of this misery," Kate said in an interview with the BBC.

One week after the stroke, Kate's husband and best friend realized that she was very bored. They showed her the television."They opened a program, I blinked violently as if to say" I don't want to see this ". Then, they asked a question that answered yes / no, not a blink of an eye, there were two flashes. eyes, "Kate said.

Eight weeks later, Kate found herself able to move her thumb, though only slightly. After 11 months in the hospital, with the help of her family, she gradually regained her ability to speak and move. One year after the stroke, Kate could run 20 meters.

After recovering almost completely, Kate spent all her time helping people with the same situation.

What is "lock in syndrome" ?

According to Telegraph, this is a rare neurological disorder , in which the patient remains alert and fully aware of what's going on around him but cannot move or communicate due to complete paralysis. The patient is actually "locked up" in their own body.

It occurs due to lower brain damage, but unlike people in a vegetative state, it does not damage the brain. In addition, a person with "internal lock syndrome" can communicate by blinking while a person in a vegetative state cannot communicate in any way.

People with this syndrome cannot chew, swallow, breathe, speak and need mechanical support. Some affected individuals may move their eyes up and down (vertically) but not from side to side (horizontally). The patient can hear and look and still maintain the sleep cycle as usual.

This syndrome affects all genders and ages , including children, but is most common in adults at risk of brain stroke and brain bleeding. Because cases of "lock in syndrome" are difficult to identify or misdiagnose, it is difficult to determine the number of people who actually suffer from them.