Chris Birch's story of being turned gay
by a stroke was featured during a segment Tuesday on CBS' The
Doctors.
When Birch, 26, regained consciousness
after suffering a stroke, he claimed his sexual orientation had been
altered. He broke up with his fiancee, ditched his bank job, started
a career as a hairdresser and eventually moved in with his
19-year-old boyfriend.
“I was gay when I woke up and I still
am,” Birch told the UK's Daily Mail. “It sounds strange
but when I came round I immediately felt different.”
“I wasn't interested in women any
more. I was definitely gay. I had never been attracted to a man
before – I'd never even had any gay friends.”
On The Doctors, Dr. Neil Martin,
a neurosurgeon, backed Birch's claim, saying some stroke patients can
become “hypersexual” or experience a “change in sexual
orientation.”
“This is just one piece of evidence
that suggests that the difference here is not some social personal
preference,” Martin said. “The difference is a fundamental
biological issue between individuals who are gay and who are
straight. You're born that way.” (The video is embedded in the
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