padren Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1230092/Patient-trapped-23-year-coma-conscious-along.html A man thought by doctors to be in a vegetative state for 23 years was actually conscious the whole time, it was revealed last night. Student Rom Houben was misdiagnosed after a car crash left him totally paralysed. He had no way of letting experts, family or friends know he could hear every word they said. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1230092/Patient-trapped-23-year-coma-conscious-along.html#ixzz0XeA6XLQy Honestly this is one of the scariest things I can imagine. I would suspect this is a fairly rare occurrence, though I am glad apparently technology is getting better at identifying such cases. I have no idea how the mind could cope with that and not go insane. Not sure what I even have to say on the topic but I felt it was worth sharing. Maybe I'll think of more to say when I am less distracted by cold shivers down my spine just thinking about it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNow Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Very spooky, indeed. Ever heard of locked-in syndrome? Similar phenomenon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locked-in_syndrome Interestingly, it's these same types of people who watch Fox news everyday. Whether they start out that way prior to tuning in or only end up that way after watching, I'm unsure. [/ ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ydoaPs Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Ever heard of locked-in syndrome? Similar phenomenon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locked-in_syndrome Darn it, iNow. Stop beating me to threads. Maybe one of these days I can show off what I learn from watching HouseMD without you beating me to the punch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNow Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Darn it, iNow. Stop beating me to threads. Maybe one of these days I can show off what I learn from watching HouseMD without you beating me to the punch! Maybe we'll have to hook you up to Braingate like Taub did with Omar Epps. http://www.braingate.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Skeptic Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 This is why smart people know how to blink an S.O.S. If he can read he can blink or otherwise communicate with his eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tugrul Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 i belive it was complete lock-down syndrome meaning his eyes are also paralysed. Becouse if it wasn't he would have blinked sometime within the 23 year period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the tree Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Darn it, iNow. Stop beating me to threads. Maybe one of these days I can show off what I learn from watching HouseMD without you beating me to the punch! No need to show off, we all know that everyone learned this from Scrubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ydoaPs Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 No need to show off, we all know that everyone learned this from Scrubs. pfft, House is way funnier than Scrubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNow Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Maybe we'll have to hook you up to Braingate like Taub did with Omar Epps. Oops... I (of course) meant Mos Def above, not Omar Epps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ydoaPs Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 The guy 'is communicating' though facilitated communication. That means someone is holding his hand and typing for him. http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/11/24/coma.man.belgium/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphus Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Yeah, it seems really fishy. What it sounds like is using him as a ouija board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ydoaPs Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Yeah, it seems really fishy. What it sounds like is using him as a ouija board. If he is "in there", I bet he's pissed off about being used like that. Any thing he's "said" in interviews is fraudulent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syntho-sis Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 So is this guy totally paralyzed or what? I'm having trouble understanding how he can type if his fingers are paralyzed... Or does he have slight mobility in his fingers? Can he even open his eyes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ydoaPs Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 I'm having trouble understanding how he can type if his fingers are paralyzed... 'facilitated communication' aka crackpottery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNow Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 He basically "pulses" his hand while someone else holds it... http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120762270 "It was especially frustrating when my family needed me. I could not share in their sorrow. We could not give each other support," he wrote, punching the words letter by letter into a touchscreen with one finger held by an assistant at the 't Weyerke institute in eastern Belgium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syntho-sis Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 He basically "pulses" his hand while someone else holds it... http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120762270 "It was especially frustrating when my family needed me. I could not share in their sorrow. We could not give each other support," he wrote, punching the words letter by letter into a touchscreen with one finger held by an assistant at the 't Weyerke institute in eastern Belgium. Pulse? Hmmm this is strange. It doesn't really say anything about the accident he was involved in or how much he was injured. And what's happened to NPR? They basically wrote the same stuff as AP, seems like NPR would look more into the means by which this guy is communicating. Smells fishy to me.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNow Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Pulse? Hmmm this is strange. It doesn't really say anything about the accident he was involved in or how much he was injured. He was in an accident 23 years ago and has been in a vegetative state since. How much detail do you need? And what's happened to NPR? They basically wrote the same stuff as AP, seems like NPR would look more into the means by which this guy is communicating. Smells fishy to me.. It's the same story all across the globe, dude. My god... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syntho-sis Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 He was in an accident 23 years ago and has been in a vegetative state since. How much detail do you need? I'd like to know whether the damage was spinal or brain. What kind of accident was it. Was he in a vehicle? Did he fall down the stairs? This he get shot in the back by gangsters? Did he slip and fall and bang his head on a piece of furniture? I'm just curious. It's the same story all across the globe, dude. My god... Your God? haha that's funny. Anyways I thought this was pretty sad. vv Recently he went to his father's grave for the planting of a tree. "A letter he wrote was lowered into the grave through a tube," his mother said. "He closed his eyes for half an hour, because he cannot cry." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNow Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 I'd like to know whether the damage was spinal or brain. What kind of accident was it. Was he in a vehicle? Did he fall down the stairs? This he get shot in the back by gangsters? Did he slip and fall and bang his head on a piece of furniture? I'm just curious. Ah... You might try google, then. Answers to those questions are not hard to find. Happy searching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharonY Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Let's blindfold the communicator, mix up the letters on the touchscreen and try again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visceral Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 ****, that is scary and horrible. I would rather be dead... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Skeptic Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 ****, that is scary and horrible. I would rather be dead... That's what a living will is for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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