A Woman without a Cerebellum

I just read an article about a woman found to be missing her cerebellum. Surprisingly, this was not discovered until she was 24 years old, already a significant age for a person growing up without a cerebellum. As the cerebellum controls voluntary movements and balance, it is also involved in many other functions such as speech and motor skills. In this case, the woman had problems walking steadily and had difficulties when she was young. However, other parts of the brain took some responsibility for the role of the cerebellum, allowing this woman to grow up fairly normally.
If a person's medulla oblongata was missing or severely damaged, involuntary actions would be severely limited. The medulla oblongata controls autonomic functions, relays nerve signals between the brain and spinal cord, and helps coordinate body movements. It may be possible for a person to survive but their capabilities will be very limited as the medulla oblongata is even involved in heart beat. However, like how other parts of the brain took over some of the cerebellum's roles, the same could happen with the medulla oblongata. Most likely though, the person would not be able to function for very long without medical help.

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