Bedford Public Library

Patient H69, the story of my second sight, Vanessa Potter

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-279) and index

autobiography

platesillustrations

no index present

non fiction

Patient H69

bibliography

Vanessa Potter

Bloomsbury sigma, book 23

the story of my second sight

"In 2012, Vanessa Potter, a married advertising film producer with two young children, was stricken by Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD), a rare illness that resulted in sudden blindness and paralysis. She was hospitalized for two weeks. Over the next five months at home, she regained mobility but recovering her sight was more problematic. At first what she saw was monochromatic. As color reappeared, she encountered synesthesia (experiencing odd responses to stimuli, such as hearing inanimate objects talk to her). While a multidisciplinary team of neurobiologists, psychologists, immunologists, and developmental biologists treated her, she blogged and kept audio-diaries, using the pen-name Patient H69. In her own words, Potter reveals the terror and torment of her blindness. Supported by neuroscientists and Britain's National Health Service, Potter became a science sleuth, uncovering some of the innermost functions of the brain and our complex visual system, while learning meditation and self-hypnosis to help herself endure the ordeal and make a miraculous recovery."--Publisher's website

Introduction: The story of Patient H69 -- part 1: Diary of events: MMXII ; Snake bite ; The pillow ; D-Day ; Home ; Mowbray Road ; Painting project 1 -- part 2: Diary of the science: The science of my sight ; The art of seeing ; Synaesthesia ; Memory ; Making no sense ; Cambridge Science Festival 2015 ; 20/200 ; Time traveller -- Appendix I: The beach : a visualized sanctuary -- Appendix II: Visualization guide

Patient H 69