In 2013 Andrew Marr, one of Britain’s most respected political broadcasters, had a stroke which threatened his life and his career. This documentary follows his recovery and examines the organ that defines who we are as a person, our brain.
Andrew shares the highs and lows of his journey and his private determination to recover. Intensive physiotherapy has restored some movement to his left side, but having made limited progress in the last year Andrew decides to explore a range of new and cutting-edge stroke treatments, and heads to Florida to see if a newly-developed treatment will help improve movement on his left side.
As well as mapping his own recovery, Andrew meets fellow stroke survivors whose brains have been affected in different parts and in different ways – from a man who can no longer recognise his wife after 26 years of marriage, to a woman who struggles to speak but can sing beautifully. He joins the doctors who are trying to solve the mysteries of these people’s conditions and therefore some of the mysteries of the most complex of organs – the brain.
Offering a rare opportunity to understand the science that goes on inside our heads, the documentary reflects upon the impacts of losing vital brain function and how this can change individual personality.
Andrew Marr: My Brain and Me, Thursday, 11.15Pm – BBC Two
