Jean-Dominique Bauby;

The next time you feel like you can’t go on, think about this:

Jean-Dominique Bauby was once the editor of one of the most famous fashion magazines of all time, Elle. He was an actor. He was world famous. At 42, he had wine, women and song. At 43 though, he suffered a massive stroke.

Sadly, Jean’s stroke left him completely incapable of movement, a condition called “locked-in syndrome”. Jean could only move his eyes. Soon after his stroke, the editor of Elle magazine suffered an infection in his right eye, and a surgeon sewed it shut. This remarkable human went from king of the world to seeing the world exclusively through his left eye.

Lucky for Jean, he had a very talented physical therapist, who picked up on Jean’s extensive blinking and communication, with Jean’s left eye. They developed a way to communicate, and ultimately a way that Jean could still write; he could still pursue his life-long passion.

Jean-Dominique Bauby wrote a book after his stroke. It’s called “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”. The book took 4 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 10 months. Each letter of that book was communicated in blinks, much like Morse Code. each word took Jean about two minutes to write.

If you ever feel overwhelmed, pick up a copy of Bauby’s book. While you read it, you will feel empowered by the strength of the human will, and you will find the will to go on. Jean did.