How to celebrate International Women’s Day on a blog about people’s experiences of illness and recovery…?
I want to draw attention to Clemency Burton-Hill’s first time as a broadcast host since she disappeared from the airwaves last year (2020), after a brain haemorrhage. She experienced a 17 day coma following her bleed, and woke up unable to speak. For a broadcaster and a young mother this was almost unthinkable. Clemency was a regular presenter on the BBC, host of Young Musician of the Year, and for me, company on my drive to work as a host of Radio 3’s Breakfast programme. She was interviewed in January 2021 for Women’s Hour, and this morning turned the tables on Emma Barnett who was her guest on Classical Mix.
She has made huge progress with her rehabilitation, walking out of the hospital in April, and now working hard on her speech. So today, I want to encourage you to listen to ‘Clemmy’, back on the airwaves via BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000syd2
Her Woman’s Hour interview with Emma Barnett is also available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000rdkq where you can hear her articulate what it feels like not to have speech, even when you can understand what other people are saying.
