Reader's Digest

July• 2018 | 121

armstilllayonthetablebehindthe

mirror.ButIwasdeterminedtoem-

bracethislittledeception.Ithink

these exercises helped forge new

pathways between the hemispheres

of my brain.

OnedayafterafewweeksNicole

was sitting opposite me when she

jumped to her feet and shouted that

mydamagedhandhadmimickedthe

movement of my good hand. At irst

Ididn’tbelieveherbutthenIlifted

myparalysedarmandmuchtomy

amazementlungitinacirclehitting

the mirror which went sliding across

the table.

Iletoutawhoop.Ihadmovement

inmyarmfortheirsttimesincethe

dayofthestroke!

By using mirror therapy in com-

bination with meditation – where I

focused on my hand and attempted

Gains and Losses

hegoalof ‘mirrortherapy’istofool
thebrain.Amirrorwasplacedby
my right shoulder my right arm be-
hindthemirror.henwithmygood
handIperformedseveralsimpleex-
ercisesstaringinthemirrorashard
asIcould.
I drummed my fingers formed a
ist lexed the ingers of my left hand.
Ididthisslowlysomybraintookin
themovementpausingthenrepeat-
ingforaboutahalfhour.Istaredat
themirror.Iknewthatregisteringthe
movement in my brain was critical.
What I saw of course was the re-
verseimage.IthoughtIwaslooking
at my right hand doing the move-
ments. Not my left hand. My brain
was being fooled.
Or was it? I wasn’t sure. My right