Botulism

It begins insidiously. Your mouth goes dry, your stomach rebels, and then — slowly, almost imperceptibly — your body loses the ability to move. The muscles no longer obey. What was just a moment ago self-evident — swallowing, speaking, holding up your head, breathing — becomes an effort, then an impossibility. Botulism is a severe poisoning caused by a bacterial toxin that interrupts the connection between nerve and muscle. Medically it is an emergency that requires immediate treatment.

But even in this extreme event, there is a language. Your body is literally paralyzed — from within, by something you absorbed without noticing. Something that looked harmless carries a poison inside it. And this poison cuts you off from your own capacity to act. You become a spectator of your own life.