Speechless
Story first, science after (only as a curiosity).
"Blessed are those who don't talk because amongst themselves they get along."
(Mariano José de Larra)
I'm getting to know Kim Fielding's style. It seems she likes to use that formula, the formula of choosing two different misfits and bringing them together. I must admit it works, as her stories are cute and warm. It was really weird because, even though I kept in mind Drew is aphasic I still forgot Travis is one-eyed. It's funny because to date, I've known some people who lack one eye, but none with the other disability.
It's always beautiful to see how one person who can't make himself be figured out finds his better half who however manages to understand him. I think that's what real love is, but in most of the cases it's less evident, as their flaws are usually on the inside. Experiencing some external handicap is another thing altogether, and sometimes it's harder to assume.
This short is just adorable and feel-good. It was just a pleasure to read and it was delicious for my taste buds.
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My knowledge of aphasias is rudimentary at best but I have a feeling this is a Broca's.
There are different areas in the brain, one who "hears", another one who "understands what you hear", another one who "moves your lips and vocal cords to talk" and all of them are connected to each other. I one of them is not right, there is one kind of aphasia or other, or maybe it's the pathway that goes from one to another which is affected. Anyway, you can "hear" well but you cannot "understand what you hear" or you can "understand what you hear" but you can't make your cords to form the words. Maybe you talk perfectly fine but what you are actually saying doesn't make sense, and you can be aware of it, or you can be not. Sometimes you don't understand a thing but you have no problem repeating the words you hear, even if you don't understand them. Or maybe you can understand and talk perfectly but you can't repeat a thing of what is being said to you.
The same with writing, maybe you can write, maybe you cannot, maybe you can understand what you write, maybe you don't. Maybe you don't understand a written word but you can copy it.
It's a real mess. It's normally due to strokes or traumatic brain injuries, one cerebral artery doesn't supply with blood a certain area and the cells suffer/die.
I'm strangely glad the author came ahead of me and answered a question I had on the tip of my tongue: Why not using sing language? She was quick and said: it's too close to be a language to use when you have this aphasia, so it's useless to try to learn it. A candy for the author for her providence.
More stuff if you are an inquisitive person:
Brain areas and their arterial blood supply:
