Mass. General Doctor Learns To Accept Her Own Changing Brain

Dr. Annie Brewster understands the value of clinical detachment. "As a doctor, I spend my days looking at radiology images and reading reports," she says. But she also admits, "It’s hard to remember that the body part being referred to is actually part of a human being."

And when she looks at MRI images of her own brain, "It is even harder to remember that it is part of me!"

Brewster has been following what's happening to her brain since she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis back in 2001. As a practicing doctor, she can understand it. But as a person, it was difficult to hear a radiologist describe her brain as abnormal.

Dr. Annie Brewster, internist at Mass. General Hospital. She's also founder and executive director of the nonprofit, "Health Story Collaborative," an organization collecting stories of illness and healing.

CommonHealth: Making Peace With My Abnormal Brain