On my first day in neurology, I was sent to go in and interview my first patient to check for seizures. I went in and the first thing that was obvious was she was in a permanent vegetative state. The next thing was that she was growing facial hair. I did the cranial nerve and other neurological symptoms check as best I could considering the patient was unresponsive. Really the only thing I was able to check reflexes and pain sensation. As I went out and talked to my resident I found out more about this individual's story. She used to be a he. Ah hah, now the facial hair makes sense, so does the masculine facial features. But on top of this, I learned the cause of the permanent vegetative state. She had been at a party where cocaine was being used and had overdosed on it. Cocaine causes an intense constriction of the blood vessels so less blood can get through. In this case it constricted the vessels enough to cause a massive hemorrhage resulting in too little oxygen to certain parts of the brain (anoxic brain injury) resulting in this state.
There are several points that I want to bring up regarding this individual and their current state. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints put out a statement in 1995 called "The Family: A Proclamation to the World", states, "All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose."1 This tells us that our gender is something that is not just chance or luck of the draw. But we have been male or female long before we were born on this earth and will be that gender after we leave this earth. When we understand that we are God's children who lived with Him before this life and have the potential to return to live with Him again after this life if we do what is right, our perspective is changed. We realize that who we are in this life is important. We may have certain trials or challenges that make it difficult for us to deal with regarding our gender, but when we have faith in God and trust in His plan, we will be able to find peace in this life because we know who we are and who we will always be.
The second point deals with the sad experience this individual had with a cocaine overdose. The devil does not have a body and as such, is jealous of the fact that we have something he never will. We learn from Moses 4: 1-4 that Satan does not want us to find happiness, in fact all he wants is for us to find misery in life. It says in verse 4, "And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will..." This tells us that anything we do that is not from God, is from the devil; and since the only thing the devil wants is to deceive us, we can know that everything except following the commandments will bring misery! He just wants to wreck our lives with problems like drugs, alcohol, and all other types of addiction. This is how he deals with us. When we listen to the Father and His plan, we find true joy and don't need to find things that will give us an artificial stimulation or high, like drugs, we will always have true joy in our life. Furthermore we can know that we are preparing to find the ultimate joy by returning to live in His presence again! I am so grateful for latter-day inspiration that tells us who we are that we are sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father sent down to earth in the form we have always been in. I am also so grateful for the commandments that truly make us free. The commandments of God will not restrict us at all, in fact, they liberate and give us true joy!
1. The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Family: A Proclamation on the Family, 1995.
