The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le scaphandre et le papillon) (Le scaphandre et le papillon)

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY

Look! He's waking up.

Page Dr. Cocheton, quick!

Dr. Cocheton to room 119.

Mr. Bauby, keep your eyes open.

Keep your eyes open.

Mr. Bauby, keep your eyes open.

You're waking from a long sleep.

Can you hear me?

I hear you.

What's going on?

God, a hospital.

Open your eyes wide.

Try to keep them open.

That's it. Good.

Now follow the light.

That's it.

Don't be afraid.

You're in a hospital.

I'm a doctor. My name's Cocheton.

These are orderlies.

We're here to take care of you.

Do you remember what happened?

- Vaguely. - Do you remember what happened?

Like I said, vaguely. Images...

You're in the Naval Hospital in Berck-sur-Mer,

on the coast, near Calais.

You were treated in Paris and then brought here.

Do you remember?

Jean-Dominique.

You've had a stroke.

You were in a coma for almost three weeks.

But now you're waking up, and you'll be fine.

I promise.

Thanks.

I need to do a few tests.

Keep your eyes on me.

That's it.

Follow my finger.

That's it.

When I say blink...

Blink, please.

Very good!

Now, try saying your name.

Jean-Dominique Bauby.

Go on, try.

- I just did. - Try hard!

Tell me your name.

Jean-Dominique Bauby.

Try to say your children's names.

ThГ©ophile, CГ©leste, Hortense.

Don't worry.

It's a very slow process.

But your speech will come back.

What?

Can't you hear me? Doctor!

What's going on?

I can't speak?

They can't hear me.

My God!

I can't speak?

What's happened to me?

My name is Jean-Dominique Bauby.

Doctor!

Okay...

I've had a stroke. My speech and memory will come back.

You'll be okay, Mr. Bauby.

- It'll be okay. - Relax. We'll take care of you.

I'll be patient.

Okay.

Okay, I believe you.

Who brought those flowers?

Roses.

InГЁs!

Did you sleep well?

Let's see, now.

You have an important visit this morning.

Dr. Lepage, the neurologist. We hope you'll be at your best.

Morning.

I'm Alain Lepage, your neurologist. You know Dr. Cocheton.

Jean-Dominique...

No, your friends call you Jean-Do,

so that's what I'll call you. Think of me as a friend.

Just be a doctor.

As a friend, I know how hard this is for you.

And I know no one has told you the full truth.

That's my job.

That's my job.

You've had what we call a cerebrovascular accident.

It's put your brain stem out of action.

The brain stem is

a vital part of our internal computer

that links the brain and the spinal cord.

In the past, we'd have said you had a massive stroke,

and you'd probably have died.

But now, resuscitation techniques have come so far that we can...

We can try...

I mean, we can prolong life.

This is life?

This is life?

Prolong life.

I won't mince words, Jean-Do. You're paralyzed from head to toe.

As you have realized, you can't speak.

You can't speak.

You have what we call

locked-in syndrome.

Locked-in syndrome.

It won't comfort you to know that your condition's extremely rare.

We simply don't know the cause.

You don't smoke, you don't drink much.

I'm afraid it's just one of those things.

But even so,

although you're physically paralyzed,

everything else seems normal. So there's hope.

- Normal? - There's hope.

Your brain is functioning.

You understand me, your eyes follow our movements.

Though I'm not thrilled about that eye.

The muscle's not working, see?

The eye's no longer irrigated.

I'm afraid we may have to occlude it.

Occlude?

Occlude what?

I'll get a second opinion.

So, I'd like you to rest up for a while.

- What else am I doing? - When you're stronger,

two beauties will visit you.

And when I say beauties,

- I mean it. - Terrific.

They're gorgeous.

Excellent therapists. Miracle workers, you'll see.

Please, no miracles.

Like I said, there's hope.

You already said that.

We'll take care of you, Jean-Do. Trust me.

Great start.

We'll take care of you.

Hello!

Am I in heaven?

I'm Henriette.

I'm Marie.

You can blink, right?

Blink once for yes and twice for no.

Just my luck! Two beauties, and I'm stuck.

Can you read this?

Where?

"Durand, Speech Therapist."

You see "Durand"?

- Good, Mr. Bauby. - Miss or Mrs.?

I'm your physiotherapist.

First I must teach you to swallow,

so we'll work on your tongue and lips.

- Sounds fun. - I'm a speech therapist.

We'll work on a way to communicate until your speech comes back.

Your case is very rare.

- So I heard. - We have our work cut out.

Let's get started.

Exactly. I only came to introduce myself.

See you later.

See you later.

I just want to say

this is the most important job I've ever had.

I'm determined to succeed.

With your help, of course.

I think you understand, but

I'm going to ask you some more questions.

Okay?

Remember. One blink, yes.

Two blinks, no.

Am I a man?

Am I a woman?

Does the sunlight bother you?

Is it midnight?

What are these questions?

Are we in Paris?

Are we in Berck?

Does wood float?

Come on!

Do you remember having a stroke?

Were you the editor of Elle?

Yes, I was the editor of Elle.

To Alaia's.

Your right eye's not good.

Can you hear me?

Your right eye is not good. I'm going to sew it up.

Sew it up?

It'll save

your cornea from going septic.

I just got back from skiing.

St. Moritz is superb at this time of year.

Screw that.

Nothing beats skiing down a trail with the wind in your face!

Get away from me!

- Don't be scared. - Get away.

- You won't feel a thing. - Please!

To hell with that.

You won't feel a thing. Relax.

He's not going to close my eye...

Please don't.

I've done it 1,000 times.