At the age of 19 Ian Waterman was suddenly struck down at work by a rareneurological illness that deprived him of all sensation below the neck. He fell onthe floor in a heap, unable to stand or control his limbs, having lost the sense ofjoint position and proprioception, of that "sixth sense" of his body in space, whichwe all take for granted. After months in a neurological ward he was judged incurableand condemned to a life of wheelchair dependence. This is the first U.S. publicationof a remarkable book by his physician, Jonathan Cole. It tells the compelling story, including a clear clinical description of a rare condition, of how Watermanreclaimed a life of full mobility against all expectations, by mental effort andsheer courage.Cole describes how Waterman gradually adapted to his strangecondition. As the doctors had predicted, there was no neurological recovery. He hadto monitor every movement by sight to work out where his limbs were, since he had nofeedback from his peripheral nerves. But with astonishing persistence Watermandeveloped elaborate tricks and strategies to control his movements, enabling him tocope not only with the day-to-day problems of living, but even with the challengesof work, love, and marriage.
