The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Parisian journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby suffered a stroke in December 1995, and, when he awoke 20 days later, he found his body was almost completely paralyzed; he could control only his left eyelid. By blinking this eye, he slowly dictated one alphabetic character at a time and, in so doing, was able over a great deal of time to write his memoir, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly". Three days after it was published in March 1997, Bauby died of pneumonia. The 2007 film "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" is a screen adaptation of Bauby's memoir. Jean-Dominique was instrumental in forming the "Association du Locked-In Syndrome" (ALIS) in France.