A stroke of creativity

Blues musician and former psychologist Damian Coen credits music as the driving force behind his incredible recovery from stroke.

On an ordinary Monday morning in 2012, Damian woke up to the frightening discovery he couldn’t speak – even more terrifying he didn’t know who he was and couldn’t recognise his family.
“I woke up at 8.30am and my wife came in to wake me up but I wasn’t able to speak and I just got up and sat on the back steps and stared,” Damian explained.

Realising something was seriously wrong, Damian’s wife rushed him to Moruya hospital where he was bundled into an ambulance and taken to the neurology department at Canberra hospital.
Scans at the hospital revealed the cause of Damian’s strange behavior. A massive stroke had wiped out the language center of his brain. Damian was admitted to the stroke unit unable to speak or use his hand.
“I was told I had a stroke but I couldn’t process it,” Damian said.
With no speech and impaired movement, Damian’s situation seemed practically hopeless to the couple. Until ten days after his stroke when the unexpected happened.
“My wife handed me a harmonica and I couldn’t believe it but I could play,” Damian said.
“I have played the harmonica since my teenage years and it was part of my soul. I put it in my mouth and discovered the right side of my brain was not messed up - I could play twelve bar blues.
“I realised I could do it, which was really good as it planted in my brain that I’m not so messed up after all.”
From that moment Damian understood his passion for music was the key to unlocking his brain.
Six months following Damian’s stroke, he could only pronounce sounds. The neurologist told him there was a chance his speech wouldn’t improve any further, however Damian refused to give up.
“In terms of recovering it took me six months to get my thoughts together – it was proof to me that my brain could get in touch with things,” Damian said.
“One speech pathologist prioritised my music in therapy. Because she could understand that I could pronounce the words that I had trouble with by singing.
“I only had her alongside me for around four months so I took it upon myself to continue with it. So I practiced, practiced, practiced [music] every day for one hour. Music was an introduction to me speaking.
“I had a lot of songs I had written before my stroke but hadn’t recorded yet. I had my singing to get back to. I taught myself to play guitar after my stroke – my left hand was okay but I had to learn, learn, learn to do my right hand but I did it.
“I set up a concert in my own home for 25 people one year after my stroke. I was playing on the guitar and singing on the microphone and playing my own song. It wasn’t perfect, but 80 percent of the words were correct.”
According to neurologist Michael Nilsson, music can have a powerful impact on the neuroplasticity of the language and speech center of the brain after stroke.
“Through the process of creating art, stroke survivors develop respect for self and others and increased confidence, empowerment and personal connections. Music performance is also inherently social – music can be played together, creating an emotionally uplifting experience,” Professor Nilsson explained.

Certainly in Damian’s case, by accessing his love of music he was able to forge new pathways to speaking.
“It’s three and a half years since my stroke and it’s getting easier to speak now because my neuroplasticity has worked on my brain,” Damian explained.
“In speaking to me now you can tell I’m disabled but two –years-ago I was more disabled. I couldn’t put words into a narrative. I had aphasia because I could say ‘bread’ and I could say ‘chicken’ but I couldn’t put bread and chicken into a sentence.
“Now I’ve given talks to 600 people in the last two months on my stroke, neuroplasticity and resilience. Speaking is my new career!”
Damian continues to rehabilitate his brain through music and has joined a local choir where he is one of two ‘blokes’. The choir’s repertoire is mainly African songs which poses another challenge for the talented musician who was told he might never speak again.
“African songs are hard for me to get – pronouncing English language is hard for me let alone African songs but I manage though not perfectly. It’s a good challenge for the brain,’’ he said.
“We performed last Sunday for 230 people. I played the harmonica in two songs – I’m good at playing the harmonica – I sung as well and it’s good.”
To listen to Damian’s music and find out more about his story visit: www.damiancoen.com