“Ondine’s curse,” explained Dr. Leo as he peered over his half-glasses, “is a result of a stroke in the medulla, in the lower stem. That’s where the respiratory drive center is located. As you know, we can either breathe voluntarily”—he demonstrated by taking a deep breath—”or involuntarily, without having to think about it. If our respiratory center is damaged, we can’t breathe automatically; we have to think about each breath. Stop thinking about breathing, and we stop breathing. It’s that simple.” “Who was Ondine? Some Queen Square neurologist?” asked Eric referring to the birthplace of
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