There is something called God’s gift. Some people are blessed with an inherent ability to learn things more quickly than others; some are showered upon the gift of intelligence while some excel in sports or other activities. We normally call such people “gifted”. Such people are in a different league than normal people. However, there is one girl who is not gifted but still gifted. I don't think this new ability is a compensation, as they say. It is more like "using what is left". I think that before the accident she was using more the left hemisphere and now there is no other choice than to use the right hemisphere (which is the one responsible with space, distance, colours, movement vision). Loosing the logic and analytic part, she now uses the artistic one - because that's all she has now. And, from my point of view, this is a positive fact, you can call it "a gift from God", I do agree.
Taisia Sidorova from St. Petersburg suffered a horrific car crash. That accident not only broke her skull into fragments and chunks but the doctors gave up saying there wasn't much chance of survival. Twenty one (21) year old girl stayed in coma for while after the doctors removed the left hemisphere of her brain. That part of the brain is apparently responsible for logic and analysis. The doctors had to place a protective plate inside her head after removing the analytical half.
While the medical practitioners believed that the Taisia would be disabled for her entire life, her mother Irina believed in the opposite. The strong willed Taisia finally woke up on New Year’s Eve and out emerged a completely new facet of her life.
She returned home and demanded complete recovery. Two (2) years after that she learnt to hold a pencil and then a brush. She started sketching for therapy and was rated as the topper of her class. Taisia started living a new life. She had not been interested in painting or sketching before the car crash, however, some incidents do have the power to change lives.
The doctors admit that the brain is human body’s exceptionally remarkable part. The part of her brain that was intact grew to compensate for the missing one. This was the logic behind Taisia’s artistic ability. Due to the missing part, Taisia’s vision is limited and so is her right hand’s movement. As a result, she paints with her left hand. Two things I find a bit off here: "It's God's gift" and all the oohs and aahs about the painting(s) and the new found ability. We seem to 'forget' that she did lose half her sight and the use of her right hand. She had the ability and artistic flare to do this before the accident but just didn't have as much time or opportunity as she was busy living. On her road to recovery (I know) in thereby etc art therapy is a huge part as that is how they can truly get to the unspoken. I guess she found a talent through that which was already in her this just gave her the right opportunity for that. Is that a full life I'm not so sure and not sure I would want to call it a gift either. Just my humble opinion but I'm no scientist.
The effects of such a trauma have, in most cases, a negative effect on the (healthy) life expectancy of the individual. To be clear, I'm amazed as well about the ability of the brain to compensate for such damages sustained. But in the end that's all you get, a compensation, not a replacement of the lost left hemisphere. To call this a 'Gift of God' is a bit silly and overly emotional. A 'true' God's gift in this case would be a new left hemisphere growing while at the same time becoming more artistically minded, as peoples abilities are usually determined by their whole brain and the influences both hemispheres are exerting on each other. Since she didn't express an interest or any talent in painting/drawing before the accident and the following therapy, it's unlikely that the talent that has now surfaced, was dominantly present in her. But it most likely was present nonetheless. This is not a special thing by itself since virtually all of us have potential talents present in our brains. Everybody can draw or paint for example, but not everybody can produce a drawing/painting that looks realistic and is considered to be beautiful or artful. The fact that the remaining right hemisphere is compensating for the loss of the left one will almost certainly be the reason for her increased artistic ability. The therapy will most likely have served as a trigger to let her increased talent further develop and surface.
Anyway, she was extremely lucky since most people that suffer this sort of trauma either die or live in a seriously hampered physical/mental condition and that's hardly a 'gifted', let alone 'donated by God', situation.
The effects of such a trauma have, in most cases, a negative effect on the (healthy) life expectancy of the individual. To be clear, I'm amazed as well about the ability of the brain to compensate for such damages sustained. But in the end that's all you get, a compensation, not a replacement of the lost left hemisphere. To call this a 'Gift of God' is a bit silly and overly emotional. A 'true' God's gift in this case would be a new left hemisphere growing while at the same time becoming more artistically minded, as peoples abilities are usually determined by their whole brain and the influences both hemispheres are exerting on each other. Since she didn't express an interest or any talent in painting/drawing before the accident and the following therapy, it's unlikely that the talent that has now surfaced, was dominantly present in her. But it most likely was present nonetheless. This is not a special thing by itself since virtually all of us have potential talents present in our brains. Everybody can draw or paint for example, but not everybody can produce a drawing/painting that looks realistic and is considered to be beautiful or artful. The fact that the remaining right hemisphere is compensating for the loss of the left one will almost certainly be the reason for her increased artistic ability. The therapy will most likely have served as a trigger to let her increased talent further develop and surface.
Anyway, she was extremely lucky since most people that suffer this sort of trauma either die or live in a seriously hampered physical/mental condition and that's hardly a 'gifted', let alone 'donated by God', situation.
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