Man trapped in 'coma' for decades

[ladywaterwind]

Car crash victim trapped in 'coma' for 23 years was conscious | World news | guardian.co.uk

For 23 years Rom Houben was trapped in his own body, unable to communicate with his doctors or family. They presumed he was in a vegetative state following a near-fatal car crash in 1983.

But then doctors used a state-of-the-art scanning system on the brain of the martial arts enthusiast, which showed it was functioning almost normally.

"I had dreamed myself away," said Houben, now 46, whose real "state" was discovered three years ago and has just been made public by the doctor who rescued him.

Steven Laureys, a neurologist at the University of Liège in Belgium, has published a scientific paper saying Houben could be one of many falsely diagnosed coma cases around the world.

Houben is being cared for at a facility near Brussels and now communicates via a computer with a special keyboard activated with his right hand, which is capable of minimal movement. He said his body was paralysed when he came round after his accident. Although he could hear every word his doctors spoke, he could not communicate with them.

"I screamed, but there was nothing to hear," he said, via his keyboard.

Houben then suffered years of being effectively trapped in his own body as care personnel and doctors at the hospital in Zolder tried to communicate with him, but eventually gave up hope that he would ever come round.

The moment it was discovered he was not in a vegetative state, said Houben, it was like being born again. "I'll never forget the day that they discovered me, it was my second birth."

Experts say Laureys' findings are likely to reopen the debate over when the decision should be made to terminate the lives of those in comas who appear to be unconscious but might have almost fully-functioning brains.

Belgian doctors used an internationally accepted scale to monitor Houben's state over the years. Known as the Glasgow Coma Scale, it requires assessment of the eyes, verbal and motor responses. But they failed to assess him correctly and missed signs that his brain was still functioning.

Laureys, who is head of the coma science group and neurology department at Liège University hospital, concluded coma patients are diagnosed falsely "on a disturbingly regular basis". In around 40% of cases diagnosed as vegetative, more careful examination shows there is still some level of consciousness. He examined 44 patients believed to be in a vegetative state, and found that 18 of them responded to communication.

"Once someone is labelled as being without consciousness, it is very hard to get rid of that," he told Spiegel magazine, calling for a systematic overhaul of the methods of diagnosis.

Laureys said patients who are not fully unconscious can often be treated and are capable of making considerable progress.

Around a fifth of patients who suffer serious head and brain injuries spend more than three weeks in a coma. Of those, between 15% and 25% are, technically speaking, still alive but remain in a state of unconsciousness, never to wake up.

When I was in debate club in high school I read an article in TIME, I believe it was, about cases where people were still awake during medical procedures when they should have been knocked out. That terrified me for weeks. I can not imagine this poor mans hopelessness through all these years being trapped in his own body and no one ever knowing.

If I were in his shoes I would probably get a little 'redneck'ish and beat the crap out of the people responsible. How this man isn't clinically insane from that torture I will never be able to figure out.

[tdgirl]

I just read about that. How sad that is! Reminds me of that movie called 'Johnny Got His Gun', where the doctors thought he was just a vegetable, yet he could think and hear everything going on around him. I can't imagine going through something like that.

[~~Who,Me?~~]

Actually, most scientists and doctors don't believe this. That "facilitated communication" crap is one of the saddest scams out there.

NeuroLogica Blog Man in Coma 23 Years – Is He Really Conscious?

[tmsmalley]

What Who Me said, plus, although this is going to sound bad, I'm not sure it matters in the real world if someone is in a coma or "locked in" or somewhere in between. The treatments are the same, the inability to communicate is the same, the situation is horrible for them, their families, just the same.

Tess

[warcraftbaby]

Actually, most scientists and doctors don't believe this. That "facilitated communication" crap is one of the saddest scams out there.

NeuroLogica Blog Man in Coma 23 Years – Is He Really Conscious?

Wow the video at the end of that article is just awful. That "facilitator" needs to be exposed for the fraud she is and stop giving this man's poor family false hope.

IA with tms. Reminds me that me and the hubby need to get our living wills done.

[loaslaen]

Dr Steven Laureys, who discovered that Houben had been wrongly diagnosed, dismissed the accusations.

He said he had already tested whether Houben was really conscious by showing him objects when the two were alone in a room.

Later, with the speech therapist, he asked Houben questions about the objects - questions that he answered correctly.

Read more: Is coma man Rom Houben REALLY writing? Mystery as critics slam his 'Ouija board' computer typing | Mail Online

Just some other pertinent info found in another article.

[~~Who,Me?~~]

And here's another post about the item again:
NeuroLogica Blog Dr. Laureys Responds Regarding Man in Coma

[loaslaen]

But Laureys' team showed Houben an object while his aide was taken outside, and when she came back in he was able to write it down correctly, said Prof. Audren Vandaudenhuyse, a colleague of Laureys.

"So all that has been checked and confirmed, so we are sure it is him who is talking," Vanhaudenhuyse said.

Houben's mother, Fina, told the AP her son has been communicating for three years and she believes no one is guiding him.

"At first he had to push with his foot on a sort of computer mouse which only had a yes-no side," she said in a telephone interview. "Slowly he got better and developed through a language computer and now communicates with this speech therapist holding his hand."

Read more: Comatose for 23 Years, Belgian Feels Reborn - TIME

[wealthybarney]

I worked around coma patients for 25 years.
Hearing is the last to go.

[gctattoo]

After seeing the video, I do agree that it appears the woman is not just supporting his hand-- she's choosing the letters on the keyboard. I think, for lack of a better term, he is just "along for the ride" while she does it. Such a very sad situation considering his physical and mental state. IMO it's taking away his dignity.

This story reminds me of a time when people were truly trapped in their bodies while society just didn't care. People with physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy were frequently locked away in institutions for the duration of their lives. Most being unable to communicate, but having full mental capabilities.

Can you even imagine how awful it was for them to spend every waking moment with no mental stimulation and nothing to do? Simply lying in a bed for hours, days, months, years with no end in sight? It's too horrible to even contemplate. :sad: