How Neurology Defines Patienthood

 by Anna Danso-Amoako

Reading “The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat”, by Oliver Sacks provided not only an insight into the field of neurology, the study of disorders and conditions relating to the Central Nervous System (CNS) within medicine, but also an unwaveringly human response to the hardships and complexities of health. Outlining their conditions under pseudonyms, Sacks describes issues which range from debilitating to unnoticed by the patients and further developed a nuanced understanding of the concept of sickness.

Neurology is a wide medical field in which professionals are equipped to treat a host of conditions such as spinal cord diseases, brain tumours, Alzheimer’s and other associated conditions of which there are thought to be around 5000. Sacks’ reviews some of these conditions within his patients going beyond providing a clinical view of the patient but humanising them to convey how complex individuals are. As a reader, you are presented with various challenges Sacks’ tries to remedy and the effect a diagnosis can have on a person. 

Ranging from amnesia to cases of damaged proprioception which refers to the loss of the ability to sense parts of your body in relation to other parts (eg; a woman with proprioception losing control in the parts of her body she could not see), the book delves into Sacks’ attempts to bring healing and hope to each of his patients. This was created in a variety of ways such as through medication. However in others the standard of living of the patients could be increased through Sacks’ working with them to provide alternative solutions. This was the case for the more complex conditions. 

This is a central theme throughout Sacks’ work with patients as he worked in conjunction with them to create ways in which their lives after diagnosis could be improved. However, the effect of neurological conditions vary drastically and for some patients, it was not something they wished to remove from their lives. One such case was Ray, a man who had Tourette’s Syndrome. Sacks was able to provide treatment in the form of a drug known as Haldol. However whilst Haldol treated the ticks he suffered with, such as shouting profane language, he felt that he lost a part of himself when medicated. The Tourette’s had provided him with an advantage in that he was unpredictable, something he used when playing table tennis. Luckily, he was able to come to a happy medium, using the drug within the week allowed him to concentrate and progress at work and not medicating over the weekend enabled him to relax as he was. I find this case particularly poignant because there are many ways diagnosed conditions can be viewed however a positive outlook upon diagnosis is one that I had not initially considered, previous to reading Sacks’ book.   

There are many complex cases and ideas presented within this book which I would highly recommend reading as it created a nuanced view of medicine through which neurological conditions and sickness in general can be seen. Sacks showcases a human view of these conditions within his cases, the lives and personalities of the individuals mentioned create an expansive definition of what it means to be a patient.