Pip Taylor shows her sketches before and after her brain injury. Source: Picture Media
A MEDICAL mystery is unfolding in Pip Taylor’s hometown of Birkenhead, Liverpool in England’s north.
Ms Taylor has become a local celebrity after a brain injury left her with an incredible ability to draw.
By her own admission, Ms Taylor was a “terrible artist” before the accident but had nevertheless loved drawing since she was a child.
Ms Taylor suffered serious bruising on the brain after falling down a flight of stairs in 2012. Source:Picture Media
The 49-year-old suffered serious bruising to her brain after tripping and cracking her head on a flight of stairs at Chester racecourse in May, 2012.
Doctors told Ms Taylor she would need six months to recover. Fearing she would be bored, she bought a sketch pad to pass the time — and discovered the accident had left her an incredible gift.
“Cringe-worthy”— Ms Taylor’s attempt at drawing a face before her brain injury. Source: Picture Media
“It is just extraordinary,” Ms Taylor told the UK’s Express. “I have always loved drawing but I was never any good.
“I used to draw cartoons and the only thing I could really manage was Snoopy. I wanted to take art as an O level, but my teacher advised me not to.
“I hadn’t drawn for years but I bought a pencil and a sketch pad. It felt really natural in a way it hadn’t before.
“I began to realise I had a real skill in being able to copy things accurately.”
Amazing new talent: Pip Taylor drew this portrait of actor Idris Elba — who starred as Nelson Mandela in the biopic Mandela: The long Walk to Freedom — after her brain injury. Source: Picture Media
Luke Griggs, spokesman for UK brain injury association, Headway, said a blow to the head can have “surprising and unexpected” effects.
“The effects of brain injury can be devastating, but we know that with the right help, at the right time, there can be life after brain injury,” Mr Griggs told the Express.
“While different parts of our brain are responsible for different things, all parts of the brain are interconnected. Inhibition in one part of the brain following injury can lead to increased activity in other parts of the brain, which can sometimes result in surprising and unexpected effects.
“It is difficult to pinpoint the exact reasons behind Pip’s fabulous new-found artistic ability but we are delighted she is enjoying her new hobby.”
But with Ms Taylor’s new-found skill comes a terrible anxiety — that the gift will be taken away as swiftly as it was granted.
“I get such a pleasure from my art,” she said. “My brain injury changed my life and I am just so glad that I have this positive talent from it.
“I don’t want to over-analyse how this has happened and I am terrified of losing my skill and I am living my dream.
“I draw as much as I can and I am truly grateful for this side-effect.”
http://www.perthnow.com.au/lifestyle/pip-taylor-develops-amazing-ability-to-draw-after-suffering-brain-injury/story-fnixw28d-1226859488803
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